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

Earlier, the union representing public school teachers had tweeted: “The Chicago Teachers Union House of Delegates has voted tonight to suspend the Union’s remote work action while rank-and-file membership votes on the proposed agreement.”

She believes contact tracing will improve because schools will have a team where staff is paid to do the tracing.

More than 340,000 students had missed four days of classes since teachers voted to teach remotely and the school district responded by canceling classes.

But the union said it wanted 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.

The mayor had said keeping students out of classrooms was “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.

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.