Name: Remote learning must continue in Chicago Public Schools this fall, teachers union says. ‘People will get sick, and we can’t look at that as collateral damage.’
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Remote learning must continue in Chicago Public Schools this fall, teachers union says. ‘People will get sick, and we can’t look at that as collateral damage.’

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AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneJul 16, 2020 at 12:11 pmSaying there is no way to reopen schools safely this fall, the Chicago Teachers Union is calling for virtual learning to continue in Chicago Public Schools when the new year begins after Labor Day.“There is simply no way to guarantee safety for in-school learning during an out-of-control pandemic — and that means we must revert to remote learning until the spread of this virus is contained,” CTU President Jesse Sharkey said. “We stand for a safe and equitable reopening of the schools, but today COVID-19 cases are soaring instead of dissipating."AdvertisementIn a news conference with CTU leadership Thursday, CPS teachers said there is not enough time to institute a plan for in-person learning that will protect students and staff, and that CPS must instead focus on mitigating harm.“I love my job, I love my students and, if it were up to me, I would return in the fall. But it’s not up to me; it’s up the virus right now,” said Ariam Abraham, a teacher at Simeon High School. Advertisement“It’s really difficult to even try to understand how we’re still having these conversations, without any sort of real plan,” Abraham added. “People will get sick, and we can’t look at that as collateral damage.”While CPS officials have already committed to measures like mandatory face masks, temperature checks and sanitizing protocols for when schools do reopen, the teachers union has said to reduce the health risks, including safe transportation plans for students and nurses in every school.But late Wednesday, the CTU went further, calling for virtual instruction to continue into the fall. Sharkey noted two big-city school systems in California — Los Angeles and San Diego — have made the decision to continue with remote learning for nearly all instruction this fall. “But whether the mayor and the school board in Chicago will implement these common-sense measures isn’t yet known,” Sharkey said.CPS leaders have said they’re preparing for different scenarios for the fall, but Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Tuesday that . She said more discussions and input from teachers, parents, students and public health experts are needed. Many Chicago-area districts are looking at a hybrid model that would combine remote learning with in-class learning for smaller groups of students who would be rotated in to maintain social distancing.Later Wednesday, CPS spokesman Michael Passman released a statement saying the district knows families and staff are eager to learn more and that a preliminary framework for fall will be out soon.“The health and safety of our students and staff is paramount, and our planning for the fall will be guided by the best available data and guidance from state and local health officials. We know that families and staff are eager to learn more about the coming school year, and we appreciate that there are a range of needs and views that are valid and must be considered,” Passman said. “A preliminary framework for the new school year will be introduced this week to gain feedback from students, parents and staff, but a decision on the potential for in-person instruction will not be made until closer to the school year when we can fully assess the public health situation at that time. We are speaking regularly with union leadership as we work to develop the strongest possible plans for the fall, and we will continue to engage a variety of stakeholders to ensure our plans best meet their needs.”But the union — whose contentious relationship with the mayor was on daily display during last fall’s 11-day teachers strike — contends it’s already too late to contemplate reopening schools without firmer plans in place now.“School executives have failed to guarantee strategies for social distancing, masks, other PPE, testing, rigorous facilities cleaning and other critical protocols that are essential if schools are to move to in-person learning,” the CTU said in its Wednesday news release. “Both the school district and charter operators have also failed to come up with concrete strategies to protect at-risk educators and students, even as the Union asked again for guarantees for at-risk children and adults in a bargaining session with CPS late Tuesday afternoon."AdvertisementThe union contends that if CPS commits now to remote learning, that will provide more time to prepare and ensure all students have access to broadband and a device, according to CTU officials.“What we need, that we did not have in March, is time to effectively plan as best we can what that (remote) learning looks like,“ said CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates. “We need a decision made now. We need certainty over confusion.”The CTU also released a 10-page report Wednesday called “,” which addresses its concerns and lays out a framework for what it says would be a safe and equitable way to reopen schools. The paper — which borrows from a similar report by the Los Angeles teachers union — emphasizes the disproportionate effect the coronavirus pandemic has had on people of color, who make up a majority of CPS students.“The United States is at an unprecedented moment of overlap between a global pandemic, deep economic recession, and an uprising for Black Lives that exposes the structural race and class fissures that have resulted in higher unemployment, exposure, infection, and death rates in Black and Brown low-income communities,” the CTU said in its release. “Plans to restart public education in Chicago must address these deeply linked dynamics of inequity and common good needs.” Advertisement

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneJul 16, 2020 at 12:11 pmSaying there is no way to reopen schools safely this fall, the Chicago Teachers Union is calling for virtual learning to continue in Chicago Public Schools when the new year begins after Labor Day.“There is simply no way to guarantee safety for in-school learning during an out-of-control pandemic — and that means we must revert to remote learning until the spread of this virus is contained,” CTU President Jesse Sharkey said. “We stand for a safe and equitable reopening of the schools, but today COVID-19 cases are soaring instead of...

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The Chicago Tribune is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television are named), it remains the most-read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region. It had the 6th highest circulation for American newspapers in 2017.

Remote learning must continue in Chicago Public Schools this fall, teachers union says. ‘People will get sick, and we can’t look at that as collateral damage.’

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