As the Chicago Public Schools hoped to welcome the first phase of educators on Monday morning for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began, many members of the Chicago Teachers Union vowed not to re-enter their buildings, citing security concerns and equality differences for black and brown students.
This is after at least 33 of a total of 50 city councilors sent a letter to Mayor Lori Lightfoot and school principal Janice Jackson detailing how they are “deeply concerned” about the scheduled reopening of the Chicago Public Schools this month, such as the “current plan for students and staff return to school buildings does not meet the district’s goal of increasing equity for students, and does not adequately address a number of safety issues identified by parents, students and staff in light of the ongoing pandemic . “
Jackson responded with his own letter on Sunday, arguing that security protocols, including contact tracking, have already been established, and giving the option to return to face-to-face classes will only benefit black and Latino students who “stayed behind” with remote learning , reported the Chicago Sun-Times. In addition, Jackson argued that thousands of students from private and Catholic schools had the option for months, “and providing that option is a matter of equity that will have ramifications for years to come.”
“Face-to-face learning is not the right choice for all students, but it should be an option for everyone,” she said.
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Citing the most recent CPS survey, councilors pointed out that less than a quarter of families chose face-to-face learning, and white families said they planned to have their children go back to school twice as often as black and Latino families.
The teachers’ union further argued that white children in classrooms will therefore benefit, and the quality of virtual learning that most minority children will experience as teachers struggle to balance the two groups of students.
“Pushing teachers and students into buildings will weaken our remote learning plans, it will not strengthen them,” said Lori Torres, a teacher in Logan Square and the mother of three children in the district, at a news conference held via Zoom earlier this Monday. . “Teachers are expected to be two people, managing the children in front of them and managing the children on the screen. In addition to being safe, the decisions the district has made tell us that we still cannot trust that what they have put in place for us. affected in mind. “
The press conference organized by the teachers’ union aimed to give several educators at schools in Chicago the opportunity to explain why they “would exercise their contractual and legal rights to a safe workplace” by refusing to appear at their buildings on Monday. Union members detailed what they categorized as deficiencies and gaps in the CPS reopening plan.
“The plan they put into practice and the story they told our families is that this decision comes with equity in mind,” said Torres. “Equity is one of those things that provides adequate staff in our building. Equity is one of those things that supports our children where they are. Equity does not mean that you have to go back to buildings that we know are not safe.”
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“Our black and brown communities have been hardest hit and will be even more devastated if we allow this reopening plan to take place,” added Linda Perales, a professor at Corkery Elementary School. She explained that requiring teachers to wear a face mask all day during face-to-face classes “will make it impossible to teach letter sounds” and that classrooms will be virtually empty to allow social distance, meaning that socialization will not be able not even if students return in person.
According to the CPS, at least 5,800 employees working in pre-school and special education cluster programs are scheduled to return to their schools on Monday. Another 861 have obtained medical licenses and some 300 applications are still pending, the Times reported. His students are scheduled to return to face-to-face classes on January 11th.
On January 25, thousands more are due to return to their buildings to prepare for the return of students from kindergarten through eighth grade on February 1. It was not clear how many union members scheduled to appear on Monday chose to stay home.
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In a video posted by the Chicago Public Schools on Monday, Erik Olson, the director of Hamline Elementary School, explained that face-to-face teaching will be different in each school based on how families responded to CPS’s intention to return the form. Most schools will follow a similar model that follows the guidelines of public health officials to ensure a safe learning environment, he said.
Generally, students will be grouped in groups of a maximum of 15 students who will enter through a specific door, complete a daily health questionnaire and have their temperatures measured, and then go directly to a specific classroom, where they will be socially distanced.
Students will remain in the classroom the vast majority of the day, although some schools have chosen to leave students for lunch and recess, while others will have students eat in their desks. They will use designated corridors and staircases to maintain a separation between the pods as they move through the building. The classrooms were equipped with adequate ventilation and air purifiers. Sanitation and hand washing stations have been installed in schools.
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Nicole Spicer, director of Bronzeville Classical Elementary, explained that students will follow a hybrid model, alternating between face-to-face and home learning on different days of the week. Students with special needs in group programs will have face-to-face classes available five days a week.
The school’s reopening plan in Chicago has been postponed several times.
“CTU has not identified any areas where the district’s plan falls short of public health guidelines and CTU’s last-minute tactics are deeply disrespectful to the 77,000 families, mostly black and Latino, who selected face-to-face learning,” said CPS spokeswoman Emily Bolton in a statement to the Chicago Tribune on Sunday. “The district’s expectation is that teachers without an accommodation report will work tomorrow, just as principals, custodians, engineers and food service workers did throughout the pandemic.”