Chicago Said Teachers Needed To Return In Person. The Teachers Voted No

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26 Янв 2021, 00:19

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The Chicago Teachers Union voted on Sunday to continue remote work only, in defiance of the school district’s plans for K-8 teachers and staff to return to classrooms this week. Here, a sign in front of Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School in September.

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Thousands of pre-kindergarten and some special education students in Chicago Public Schools returned to in-person learning earlier this month. Pre-kindergarten teacher Angela Panush reads a story to her students at Dawes Elementary on January 11.

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/AP

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Ashlee Rezin Garcia/AP

The union retweeted staff and parents who said Lightfoot’s remarks showed her to be primarily concerned for wealthy families who have the ability to move.

In 2019, a 15-day strike resulted in increased pay for teachers, $35 million to reduce overcrowded classrooms, and the district adding a nurse and a social worker at each school within five years.

Jackson, the district CEO, says CPS has spent more than $100 million on measures to reopen safely, including the purchase of more than 25,000 HEPA air purifiers.

Thousands of pre-kindergarten and special education students returned to classrooms earlier this month, alongside teachers and staff. About a third of those teachers and staff initially did not report for work in-person, Reuters notes, and as of mid-January, 87 of them remain locked out of their virtual classrooms by the district for failing to report for work.

The district has not announced when high schoolers will return for in-person instruction.