The Chicago Teachers Union unveiled a new proposal Saturday that would have remote learning start Wednesday districtwide if school officials agree to a set of additional COVID-19 safety protocols.
But even before the union’s announcement was complete, Mayor Lori Lightfoot shot down the idea.
Under the latest offer, CTU members would return to classrooms starting Monday — not for formal classes but to distribute laptops and help students sign up for a weekly, school-based COVID-19 testing program. Remote learning would begin Wednesday with in-person classes slated to return Jan. 18, if case numbers hold right.
Scores of Chicago Public Schools staff and students are already absent from in-person classes because they have COVID-19 or are quarantining because of possible exposure. But Lightfoot, CPS and public health officials have repeatedly opposed a wholesale return to remote learning during the standoff that so far as resulted in three days of canceled classes.
“CTU leadership, you’re not listening. The best, safest place for kids to be is in school. Students need to be back in person as soon as possible,” read a statement from Lightfoot and CPS CEO Pedro Martinez. “That’s what parents want. That’s what the science supports. We will not relent.”
“In our view this would solve all the outstanding issues, would give parents the clarity that we will begin instruction next week and begin in-person instruction on the 18th,” CTU President Jesse Sharkey said at a news conference Saturday at which civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson also appeared.
“We’re not talking about a long, indefinite period where schools are remote,” Sharkey said, but a temporary measure while “we’re dealing with the high point of a surge.”
He contended that “what the mayor is basically offering instead is no (schooling) at all. … This impasse is hurting students.”
As of Thursday, the union had demanded a negative PCR test for students to return to class, but the new proposal would scrap that requirement for a plan in which 10% of a school’s population would be tested at random each week, plus those who already opted for the voluntary weekly testing program.
The metrics to switch a school to remote learning would be 20% or more of a school’s CTU staff isolating or quarantining because of COVID-19, or 25% if there are fewer than 100 employees at the school.
Schools would also be shut down for in-person learning for elementary schools if 30% of homerooms have more than 30% students isolating, and high schools and middle school programs if more than 25% of the student body are isolating.
Another new proposal is demanding a greater substitute teacher stipend of $1,000 compared to the normal $420 monthly stipend.
The union will continue to call for regular mask distribution and reinstating the health screener.
“Despite the fact that school districts across the state and nation are taking an opt-out approach to COVID-19 testing, Mayor Lightfoot has called the COVID-19 nasal swab test an ‘invasive medical procedure,’” the union said, adding that under its proposal, students could still opt out of screening.
If negotiators at CPS are willing to reach an agreement, the CTU’s governing body then has to approve it before the rank-and-file members vote. no agreement with CPS is reached, members would continue to stay home until Jan. 18 with hopes they could teach their classes remotely.
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Martinez has signaled he favors testing 10% of unvaccinated people in schools each week plus those who voluntarily sign-ups, though parental consent would be required for any testing. But on other issues, the district and union are further apart.
Teacher Chris Meenaghan puts signs on the back of his truck before leading a Chicago Teachers Union caravan from Union Park to City Hall Wednesday. Chicago Public Schools classes were canceled Wednesday, Thursday and Friday after a CTU vote in favor of refusing in-person work until further COVID-19 safety measures are implemented. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
For one, they have differing proposed metrics on when a school should shut down and go remote. CTU wants that to happen when 20% of the staff is in isolation or quarantine, while CPS says 40%. Martinez also said there can be no districtwide metric to shut down in-person learning for all schools, as there was during the previous reopening agreement last school year.
The union also expressed disappointment after it was revealed the Gov. J.B. Pritzker administration within the past several months offered to help the Chicago Public Schools with vaccination clinics, testing and more masks, according to the governor’s office. But city officials have not taken him up on the offer of help, his office said.
In response, CPS said in a statement that the district receives federal funding for school testing and that the state’s testing resources are for school districts outside Chicago. “We would welcome any additional testing resources,” the city added.
The update on the CPS impasse comes as the district reports 1,025 new student COVID-19 cases and 939 new staff cases from Monday to Thursday, a record for both groups.
Despite the numbers, Chicago’s public health commissioner, Dr. Allison Arwady, has insisted that schools with proper mitigation are the safest place for children.
Jackson said at the union news conference Saturday that he appreciates Lightfoot’s point that students are better off in schools but “on the other hand, teachers want safe working condition.”
Sharkey said that in-person learning being better than remote is beside the point, comparing the situation to a when a blizzard shuts down school because it’s too dangerous for students and staff to get there. Whereas in the past school had to be canceled altogether, now remote learning is an option.
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