Teachers will be back Tuesday and students return Wednesday, the mayor says

But the union wants schools to be able switch from in-person learning to virtual learning if Covid-19 absences amount to more than 25% of school staff; 30% of elementary school students; or 25% of high school students.

Negotiators from the teachers’ union and the mayor’s CPS team were at the bargaining table until about 10 p.m. CT Sunday, union president Jesse Sharkey said Monday.

Negotiations are at “serious phase,” Sharkey said, but the two sides are still divided on key issues.

“I mean, if you say school is open … and half the students don’t show up, you’re not doing any learning for half the students, right?” Sharkey said.

“And so if remote learning is half as good, it’s the same difference, isn’t it?”

Lightfoot told CNN on Friday that officials are willing to shut down individual schools if needed, but district-wide remote learning was not an option.

The mayor also said keeping students out of classrooms is “untenable” — and not just because of the difficulties of learning remotely.

Lightfoot said many single parents are unable to go to work because they have to stay home with their children. And many children rely on school meals during the week.

What other school districts are doing

Across the country, many school districts are still grappling with reopening after the holiday break.

In Atlanta and Cleveland, schools returned to in-person learning Monday after a week of remote learning.

But schools in Jefferson County, Kentucky, and Nashua, New Hampshire, were closed to students Monday because of staffing shortages.

Milwaukee students were supposed to return to classrooms Monday, but the school district decided to extend remote learning for another week.

In Baltimore, more than 50 public schools transitioned to virtual learning Monday because of staffing concerns and a rise in Covid-19 cases.

“Decisions are made based on having enough staff available to operate a school OR the ability to conduct COVID-19 testing,” Baltimore City Public Schools said in a written statement. No decision had been made as to when students can return to those classrooms.

In Philadelphia, 91 schools are teaching remotely this week after “Covid-related staffing challenges,” the school district said.

Los Angeles students are slated to return to classrooms Tuesday, and the school district is in the process of universal Covid-19 testing. So far, 50,000 new Covid-19 cases have been identified, and those students and staff members will have to stay home.

Chicago schools will provide KN95 masks

“Although we have been negotiating hard throughout the day, there has not been sufficient progress for us to predict a return to class tomorrow.”

But there has been some progress in the negotiations.

The school district has agreed to provide KN95 masks for staff and students through the rest of this school year, Chicago Public Schools said late Saturday.

The district said it will also continue to offer weekly Covid-19 testing for all students and staff.

How the standoff began

Last Tuesday, the last day students were in classrooms, Chicago Public Schools reported 422 new Covid-19 cases among students and 271 new cases among adults — both record highs for the academic year.

That night, the Chicago Teachers Union voted to start teaching virtually. The union said inadequate Covid-19 testing and staffing contributed to unsafe school environments.

“All we are asking is that we would like our students to test negative before entering in the building,” teacher Briana Hambright-Hall said. “A two-week pause (of in-person learning) is not too much.”

In response to union’s vote to teach remotely, the school district canceled classes — reiterating its stance that children need to learn in classrooms.

CTU proposed resuming in-person teaching Tuesday, January 18, “unless (the Chicago Department of Public Health) or the State of Illinois determine that public health conditions are not safe for in-person school at the time.”

Over the weekend, Lightfoot and Martinez issued a joint statement saying union leaders were “not listening.”

“The best, safest place for kids to be is in school. Students need to be back in person as soon as possible,” the statement said. “That’s what parents want. That’s what the science supports. We will not relent.”

This isn’t the first time school has been canceled over an impasse between the teachers’ union and Lightfoot.

The deal also included more funding to reduce oversized K-12 classrooms and more funding for recruitment and training.

Families caught in the middle

While the impasse between the teachers’ union and city leaders dragged on, parents and students were in limbo.

CPS parent Michelle Egan said students and teachers needed to return to classrooms.

“Over the holiday break, we saw our teachers going on vacations and visiting families. And they absolutely should be doing that,” Egan told CNN Monday morning.

“But to return to school three days later and say that they don’t feel comfortable being in a classroom … we have to move on. We have to live our lives with this pandemic. And so we really want the teachers to get back to work.”

Halle Quezada is both a CPS teacher and parent.

“We are in a spike. There was a lot of holiday travel. A lot of teachers were quarantining, like myself,” Quezada told CNN Monday. “We need to respond to that spike.”

“I think that there has to be an option for both sides of this argument,” she said. “Those that want to go in person who, for their kid, that is the best option, they should be able to do that. And for those that want remote, we need to be able to provide options for them as well.”