School isn鈥檛 out for the summer yet, but thousands of British Columbia students won鈥檛 be in class Monday.

B.C. teachers are set to begin a four-day rotating strike Monday that will see every public school in the province effectively close down for one day by the end of the week. Vancouver is among the first 16 school districts where parents are being told to keep their children home on Monday. A complete strike schedule .

In total, more than a half a million students are stuck in the middle of a drawn-out dispute between teachers and the province. Since April 23, the first phase of teacher job action has left students without supervision outside of class time, prompting recess to be cancelled in about a dozen districts where administrative staff weren鈥檛 able to cover those duties.

In response to the next phase of job action, the government said it will implement a partial lockout, cut teacher pay by 10 per cent and limit the amount of time teachers are allowed to be at work before and after class to 45 minutes.

The direct impact this will have on students isn鈥檛 entirely clear. While the B.C. Teachers鈥� Federation says graduation ceremonies, extracurricular activities and even final exams could be in jeopardy, the B.C. Public School Employers鈥� Association says that isn鈥檛 true.

鈥淭eachers are free to participate in all extracurricular activities, including on school property,鈥� . 鈥淭here is nothing in the lockout that prevents BCTF members from continuing to participate in such activities as graduation, sports, and awards events.鈥�

鈥淚f teachers choose not to participate in such activities, they do so as a result of their own decision,鈥� the memo adds.

A history of disagreement

This week鈥檚 strike is characteristic of a turbulent history between B.C. teachers and the provincial government. Teachers have been without a contract since June of last year, and though negotiations have been ongoing since October, a peaceful compromise seems unlikely 鈥� only once in the past 10 years have the two sides managed to negotiate a contract, with back-to-work legislation often being necessary to get teachers back in front of the blackboard.

At this point, teachers are looking for their first salary increase since 2010, as well as smaller class sizes and a limit to the number of special needs students per classroom. With benefits, the province says the teachers are asking for a 21 per cent raise over the next four years, something that would cost about $2 billion.

The province is offering a 7.25 per cent pay hike over six years and an extra $1,200 bonus per teacher if an agreement is signed by the end of June. The offer comes without any compromise on class size or special needs considerations.

A May 21 bargaining session was cancelled for both sides to consider each other鈥檚 offers.

The two sides are each blaming the other for the disruptions students and parents are suffering.

鈥淓very time this goes to job action instead of talking, that鈥檚 what happens. Kids get stuck in the middle of it,鈥� B.C. premiere Christy Clark said at a news conference on Tuesday. 鈥淎nd that is wrong鈥�

鈥淭his is a problem between adults, and it should stay between adults.鈥�

But president of the BCTF Jim Iker says it鈥檚 the premiere鈥檚 lockout that is harming students.

鈥淚n adopting this strategy, Christy Clark could be the cause of many cancelled field trips, sports tournaments, theatre productions,鈥� he said.

If no compromise is reached before the end of the school term, a full lockout will be imposed by the B.C. government for three days at the end of June, after the exam period has ended. And though each student should only have one school day cancelled for now, it鈥檚 an inconvenience that has forced parents to stay home from work or sent scrambling for daycare.

With a report from CTV's Melanie Nagy and files from CTV Vancouver