On January 11th, despite the mayor’s extension of the stay at home order, Chicago Public Schools has ordered its first wave of teachers and students back into the classroom during the deadliest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic that has caused schools to close and switch to virtual learning since last March.
Citing safety concerns, the Chicago Teachers Union and the majority of the city’s alderman have rejected CPS’s plan to reopen schools over its lack of transparency and completion. Although CPS has shared a report that schools are not sites of increased infection, the same reports show that this is only true when the virus spread is controlled in the area; however, the virus spread in Chicago is not controlled yet. This is why the mayor has extended the stay-at-home order.
Last week, teachers who were designated as pre-k and special cluster teachers were ordered to return to work in the building. As a form of exercising their labor rights and the right to safe working conditions, the CTU and some of its members have decided to defy CPS’s orders of returning to the building until the district commits to bargaining with teachers as well as including teachers and parents in the process of designing a safe reopening plan. As a result, about half of the teachers expected to return went into the physical buildings and the other half continued to teach remotely last week.
This week, the first wave of students were expected to return and some their teachers chose to remain teaching remotely alongside the 70% of students and families who also chose to continue learning virtually. CPS’s current model expects teachers who are asked to teach in person to simultaneously teach both students in person and online; diverting attention away from over the 70% of students who chose to remain remote in order to meet the needs of the 30% who chose to learn in person. This is one aspect of CPS’s return to school plan that is incomplete. CPS has not provided a clear framework to teachers on how they are to simultaneously to teach both virtual students and students who chose to opt in person.
As a result of teachers exercising their right to organize for safe working conditions for themselves and their students, CPS has chosen to lock teachers out of their accounts and deny their students access to their teacher. Here is an email that CPS has sent to their staff regarding their refusal to return to work in person.
There is no doubt that this will end up in a legal battle between CPS & CTU.
Many of the CPS’s local school councils made up of the individual parents at each school have passed resolutions asking CPS to delay its reopening plans citing the same safety and educational concerns as the union and the majority of the city’s alderman.
One thing is clear, CPS and the mayor must commit to working with its teachers rather than choosing to shut them out of the conversations around reopening schools and punishing teachers for fighting for the safety of themselves and their students. It’s time for both sides to come together to commit on developing a safe and effective reopening plan for students & their families.