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CHICAGO (CBS) — After the Chicago Teachers Union told Chicago Public Schools its members are not ready to return to the classroom because of COVID concerns, CPS said children should stay home Wednesday.
In a letter to CPS families, CEO Doctor Janice Jackson said the district had no choice but to make the decision, affecting thousands of students.
“Yesterday evening, Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) leadership notified its members that beginning tomorrow, Wednesday, Jan. 27, it will direct pre-k and cluster classroom teachers who have been safely teaching in-person since the beginning of the month to stay home. As a result, the district has no choice but to ask parents to keep your children home tomorrow,” Jackson said. “For the past three weeks, thousands of CPS students have been safely learning in person, and the union’s action will prevent these students from receiving the classroom support their parents needed and chose.”
The standoff between CPS and CTU has been going for weeks, with teachers instructing from laptops while outside. Recently, CPS cut off email and other online tools for teachers who refused to return to their classrooms. CPS has long stated the classrooms have COVID safety protocols in place.
“While we are greatly concerned for our youngest and highest-need students, who are suddenly without a safe, in-person learning option, we are continuing to make all possible efforts to reach an agreement that addresses the union’s priorities and provides families a much-needed resolution,” Jackson said. “CPS today provided union leadership with an updated comprehensive proposal, which addresses most of the union’s remaining concerns and builds on the progress that has been made over several weeks of discussion.”
K-8 students are scheduled to come back to the classroom on Feb. 1.
CTU rank-and-file teachers have voted to defy an order from Chicago Public Schools to return to in-person instruction.
“Our top priority remains providing all students the safe instruction that is right for them at this time — whether they want to learn in person or at home — and our engagement with the union remains ongoing in an effort to reach an agreement,” Jackson said. “But as it stands, union leadership has directed pre-k and cluster staff not to report to duty on Wednesday. Without assurance that there is adequate teaching staff for in-person learning, we must prioritize student safety and ask that parents keep their children home for remote learning tomorrow. We remain committed to reaching an agreement that protects the February 1st return to in-person learning for K-8 students, and we will be in touch with further updates as this situation develops.”
Tuesday morning, parents from the Far South Side held a virtual meeting with CPS Chief Executive Officer Janice Jackson to talk about plans to return to the classroom. Some parents support going back to school, but others feel it’s too soon.
“Our family has had success with remote learning. We feel that schools are not yet safe. We feel that there’s a third wave of the pandemic approaching,” said Kenyatta Land, the father of a student at Kellogg Elementary School.
“My current eighth grader has truly been stunted with his growth, I do believe,” CPS parent Ashanti Brooks said.
According to a news release from the Chicago Teachers Union, it’s calling for mediation “to broker a safe path to returning to schools.”
HAPPENING NOW: Mayor Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools CEO Dr. Jackson provide an update on CPS’s reopening plans. https://t.co/Vci6Y8hoF6
— Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) January 26, 2021
The CTU added “(CTU) is seeking a health metric based on CDC guidance, a phased reopening, access to vaccinations for educators, and enforceable safety standards in school buildings, which have struggled to meet even basic needs for PPE, adequate ventilation and clean facilities.
“As of today, a majority of Chicago’s Public Schools fall outside of the newly released Center for Disease Control guidelines. Currently, Chicago’s schools lack access to adequate testing and tracing programs, proper PPE, necessary room ventilation and sanitization, and priority vaccination of educators and school support staff.”
“If solving the problem of how to reopen school buildings while ensuring the safety of educators, staff and students in the middle of a pandemic was easy, then CPS and CTU would have already done it,” said American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten. “That’s why appointing a mediator is the right move, right now.”
This is a developing story.
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