The Chicago Teachers Union said Sunday that many of its members, who are expected to return to school on Monday, are contradicting Chicago public schools’ plans and will only teach remotely, a majority of Chicago city councilors said a Letter to the Mayor that they are “deeply concerned” about the plans to reopen the city.
The measures mark an escalation in CTU’s month-long campaign for a safe reopening and complicate Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Headmistress Janice Jackson’s plans to bring back thousands of teachers and students. .
Thirty-three councilors wrote a letter to Lightfoot and Jackson saying they were “deeply concerned” about the proposed reopening of the CPS this month and expressing doubts about the racial justice and health and safety aspects of the city map. They outlined nine steps the city should take to reopen classrooms and urged the mayor and school district to work with the teachers’ union on their concerns.
Jackson replied with a long letter from him on Sunday evening that CPS officials had already addressed most of the council’s concerns and that “the data is clear that schools like ours can safely reopen”. Jackson cited the city’s 16 learning centers and the thousands of students attending face-to-face classes in private and parish schools as examples of classroom reopening in the Chicago area. Security amid the pandemic. She said the CPS “met and exceeded” these schools’ abatement protocols.
However, CPA has challenges that many of these schools don’t, such as: B. A greater density and population of special education and low-income children. The neighborhood is also facing a workforce that refuses, at least in part, to return to buildings they deem dangerous.
At least 5,800 employees are expected to return to their schools on Monday for the first time since the pandemic began. According to the CPS, there are 861 more sick days and around 300 applications pending. Educators work in preschool and special education cluster programs. Your students are expected to return on January 11th. Thousands of teachers and staff are expected on January 25, before schools reopen on February 1 for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
A CTU spokeswoman said the union did not know how many members refused to return or whether that could derail plans for the school system. Any worker who has told their manager they will not return has been threatened with discipline by the CPS, but the union will support and expect any members who choose to stay home to do so. A “ton” of complaints are being filed, CTU leaders said.
The union claims that members have a contractual and legal right to refuse to work in a job they deem unsafe. A decision on collective work measures such as a work break has not yet been made.
Jackson told the Sun-Times last month that teachers who fail to show up for work could be fired.
Councilors Ed Burke (14th), Brian Hopkins (2nd) and Nick Sposato (38th) were among a handful of moderate and conservative councilors who signed the letter and joined progressives who generally support the causes of CTU.
Aldermen recognized the stressors of distance learning for families and educators, but said they were “deeply concerned about the current plan for Chicago public schools”. . . the district’s goal of increasing equity for students is not being achieved and a number of safety issues identified by parents, students, and staff in the face of the pandemic in classes are not adequately addressed.
Lightfoot had argued that reopening schools would be fair deal for students of color who had less access to distance learning. Jackson reiterated that argument on Sunday, writing in response that black and Latin American students need an opportunity for face-to-face learning because many have “fallen far behind” in distance learning.
However, city councils’ concern is centered on the fact that, despite these intentions, white and middle-class families have chosen to return to their schools twice as often as black, Latin American and low-income families. likely to trust neighborhood security. Measures in a pandemic that has disproportionately affected their communities. With teachers now expected to split their efforts between the classroom and the screen, black and Latin American students – the vast majority of whom have chosen to stay away – may receive even less attention than before.
The councilors’ letter asked the CPS to establish clear public health criteria for the reopening. create a detailed test and contact tracing plan; Improving internet access and reducing screen time for distance students; Notify social workers, speech pathologists, and other clinicians before students return; give quick and transparent decisions to those requesting sick leave; Provide clearer guidelines for paid time off and regularly inform the public about the hiring of 2,000 new employees to take responsibility for the pandemic.
“A successful reopening plan must build public confidence through transparency, communication and collaboration,” wrote the city councils. “To do this, CPA needs real buy-in and collaboration with parents, communities and unions. We believe CPS can and are ready to help in any way we can. “”
Read the letter from the Aldermen of Chicago to Mayor Lightfoot and the CPS.
Read the CPS’s response to the city council.
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