Thousands of Chicago educators are refusing to return to schools on Monday, as originally planned, after a weekend vote by their teachers’ union to challenge a district order asking them to return to the classroom in preparation for the resumption of personal learning.
The public schools in Chicago, which is the country’s third largest district, wanted about 10,000 teachers from kindergarten through eighth grade and other staff to return to school this morning to prepare to welcome around 70,000 students back for classes. part-time at the school from February 1. But now, after the vote, the district has postponed its employees’ expected return date to Wednesday in the hope of securing an agreement with the Chicago Teachers Union on its concerns about the spread of the coronavirus.
“The scheduled return date for students in kindergarten to 8th grade continues on Monday, February 1, and it is our goal to reach an agreement with CTU as soon as possible to ensure that tens of thousands of additional students have the opportunity to safely return to our classrooms, “Chicago Public Schools said Sunday in a message to families.
Pre-kindergarten students listen to their teacher read a story at Dawes Elementary in Chicago on January 11. Chicago public schools wanted thousands of elementary and high school teachers and staff to return to classrooms on Monday to prepare for the resumption of face-to-face learning, but now that return date has been postponed. (AP / Chicago Sun-Times)
CLICK HERE FOR FULL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
“Students in more than 130 private and parish schools and more than 2,000 early learning centers across the city have been learning safely in their classrooms since fall, and we must offer this same option to our families who, through no fault of their own, have been unable to make remote learning work for their children, “he added. “We’ve seen grades, attendance and enrollment drop significantly for many of our students in the past few months, and the impact has been felt most by our black and Latino students.”
The statement also said that the Chicago Public Schools agreed to a union request to delay the return of K-8 teachers to Wednesday – but union leaders called it “inaccurate” and accused the district of “trying to sow dissent” and interrupt the union’s collective action. ”
“The CPS unilaterally made the decision to move the return date for elementary and high school teachers back to Wednesday, January 27, 2021,” wrote the Chicago Teachers Union in its own statement. “The union currently has no agreement with the district on any terms.”
“The overwhelming majority of our members chose security, unity and solidarity, and an agreement is within reach, but we need a willing partner,” added CTU President Jesse Sharkey.
Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson speaks to reporters after visiting preschool classrooms at Dawes Elementary School in Chicago on January 11. (AP / Chicago Sun-Times)
CHICAGO TEACHERS VOTE TO TEACH FROM HOME, DISTRICTING DISTRICT
CTU says it is demanding a “responsible health metric built on CDC guidelines, committees to enforce safety standards, voluntary staff return while workers can have access to vaccines and rigorous tests for students and staff to mitigate any possible outbreak”.
“There is no doubt that we all want to return to face-to-face education. The issue is the current unpreparedness of the CPS for a return to face-to-face education and the clear and present danger it poses to the health of our families and school communities,” the union said in a separate statement.
The district’s security plan includes thousands of air purifiers, more cleaning and a voluntary testing program.
The district of some 355,000 students, who took full-time online classes last March because of the pandemic, has gradually welcomed students back to its facilities. Thousands of pre-kindergarten and special education classes resumed face-to-face learning earlier this month and teachers who did not return to classes were punished.
But the union also argued that schools do not need to be fully equipped less often than expected.
A pre-kindergarten student washes his hands at Dawes Elementary in Chicago on January 11. (AP / Chicago Sun-Times)
BOSTON COLLEGE ENCOURAGES STUDENT REPORTS ON CORONAVIRUS INFRINGEMENTS, INCLUDING USE OF THE ‘IMPROPER’ MASK
CPS data showed that about 19% of students eligible for pre-K classroom learning and special education earlier this month attended. That number was even lower than a December survey that showed that about 6,500 of the nearly 17,000 eligible preschool and special education students were interested.
The union’s collective bargaining agreement, which was approved after a 2019 strike, prohibits its approximately 25,000 members from going on strike and prevents district authorities from blocking them. District officials said the union’s vote for disobeying the order to return to schools on Monday would violate the contract.
Union officials, however, say that returning to instructions personally before their members are vaccinated and without other safeguards would put them at greater risk of contracting the virus. They argue that if the district tries to punish teachers for staying home on Monday, the district will be responsible for a work stoppage.
Illinois on Monday is scheduled to begin the next phase of its vaccination plan, which expands eligibility for teachers and people 65 and older. The district said on Friday that it would start vaccinating teachers and staff from mid-February and that the process would take months.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION
The Chicago vote comes at a time of great uncertainty in the United States about how and when schools should resume face-to-face education.
President Biden promised to reopen most schools in his first 100 days in office. He is promising new federal guidelines on school opening decisions and a “large-scale” Department of Education effort to identify and share the best ways to teach during a pandemic.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.