AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneApr 07, 2021 at 12:28 pmThe Chicago Teachers Union is asking Chicago Public Schools to delay reopening high schools and provide vaccines to eligible students and families, even as the two sides attempt to negotiate an agreement to bring high school students back this month.CPS has set a target return date of April 19 for high school students, who have been learning remotely for more than a year. That date marks the beginning of the district’s fourth academic quarter and is also when more elementary students will be able to resume in-person...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneApr 07, 2021 at 12:28 pmThe Chicago Teachers Union is asking Chicago Public Schools to delay reopening high schools and provide vaccines to eligible students and families, even as the two sides attempt to negotiate an agreement to bring high school students back this month.CPS has set a target return date of April 19 for high school students, who have been learning remotely for more than a year. That date marks the beginning of the district’s fourth academic quarter and is also when more elementary students will be able to resume in-person...WW…

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneFeb 05, 2021 at 8:50 pmDespite Chicago Public Schools extending a “cooling off” period through Thursday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot started the day casting blame on the Chicago Teachers Union for the lack of an agreement over reopening schools.“We are out of runway,” the mayor said at a morning news conference, insisting a deal was needed Thursday. “ ... Time is running out.”AdvertisementNearly 12 hours later, no deal had yet surfaced, despite the mayor’s insistence and tactics, from social media quips to joint, one-sentence statements with CPS CEO Janice Jackson...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneFeb 05, 2021 at 8:50 pmDespite Chicago Public Schools extending a “cooling off” period through Thursday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot started the day casting blame on the Chicago Teachers Union for the lack of an agreement over reopening schools.“We are out of runway,” the mayor said at a morning news conference, insisting a deal was needed Thursday. “ ... Time is running out.”AdvertisementNearly 12 hours later, no deal had yet surfaced, despite the mayor’s insistence and tactics, from social media quips to joint, one-sentence statements with CPS CEO Janice Jackson...WW…

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneJan 20, 2021 at 7:10 pmThe Chicago Teachers Union’s governing body is expected to convene Wednesday and could send a vote to members as soon as Thursday to strike or take other collective action as early as next week, several sources told the Tribune.With that looming threat, Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson held a roundtable Tuesday morning with a small group of parents inside the gymnasium at Belmont-Cragin Elementary. Asked about talks with the union and the possibility of a teachers strike, Jackson said the district is “incredibly interested” in...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneJan 20, 2021 at 7:10 pmThe Chicago Teachers Union’s governing body is expected to convene Wednesday and could send a vote to members as soon as Thursday to strike or take other collective action as early as next week, several sources told the Tribune.With that looming threat, Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson held a roundtable Tuesday morning with a small group of parents inside the gymnasium at Belmont-Cragin Elementary. Asked about talks with the union and the possibility of a teachers strike, Jackson said the district is “incredibly interested” in...WW…

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneJan 11, 2021 at 4:24 pmWhen the emergence of the novel coronavirus prompted a statewide school shutdown back in March, probably few Chicagoans thought another 10 months would go by before their public schools would resume in-person classes.Now that day has arrived — at least for the fraction of Chicago Public Schools students whose families have chosen to send their children back. But with virus in much wider circulation now than when schools shut down — and Lightfoot extending a stay-at-home advisory Sunday — many parents and teachers have indicated they’d...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneJan 11, 2021 at 4:24 pmWhen the emergence of the novel coronavirus prompted a statewide school shutdown back in March, probably few Chicagoans thought another 10 months would go by before their public schools would resume in-person classes.Now that day has arrived — at least for the fraction of Chicago Public Schools students whose families have chosen to send their children back. But with virus in much wider circulation now than when schools shut down — and Lightfoot extending a stay-at-home advisory Sunday — many parents and teachers have indicated they’d...WW…

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneJan 08, 2021 at 5:16 pmMayor Lori Lightfoot said Chicago Public Schools will move forward with plans to reopen schools on Monday, despite ongoing objections by the teachers union and a large group of aldermen.Further, CPS CEO Janice Jackson said staff members who don’t show up — as about half failed to do this week — will be deemed absent without leave “and ineligible for pay going forward.”Advertisement“This is not a measure we take lightly,” Jackson added.Members of the Chicago Teachers Union took issue with assertions that schools are adequately equipped...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneJan 08, 2021 at 5:16 pmMayor Lori Lightfoot said Chicago Public Schools will move forward with plans to reopen schools on Monday, despite ongoing objections by the teachers union and a large group of aldermen.Further, CPS CEO Janice Jackson said staff members who don’t show up — as about half failed to do this week — will be deemed absent without leave “and ineligible for pay going forward.”Advertisement“This is not a measure we take lightly,” Jackson added.Members of the Chicago Teachers Union took issue with assertions that schools are adequately equipped...WW…

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneNov 19, 2020 at 6:54 pmWith hard return dates for elementary school students contingent upon the status of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicago Public Schools officials are challenged by how to improve on poor attendance rates they saw during the remote fall quarter.“The consequences here are not theoretical,” said Chief Education Officer LaTanya McDade. “Research tells us that if we do not act with urgency, we will be in danger of losing an entire generation of students. It is often said that access to health care should be a fundamental right of all people. Well,...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneNov 19, 2020 at 6:54 pmWith hard return dates for elementary school students contingent upon the status of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicago Public Schools officials are challenged by how to improve on poor attendance rates they saw during the remote fall quarter.“The consequences here are not theoretical,” said Chief Education Officer LaTanya McDade. “Research tells us that if we do not act with urgency, we will be in danger of losing an entire generation of students. It is often said that access to health care should be a fundamental right of all people. Well,...WW…

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneOct 16, 2020 at 3:38 pmChicago Public Schools announced Friday that all students will continue with remote learning when the second quarter starts in November but that some of the district’s “most vulnerable” children will have the option to begin returning to schools before the end of the calendar year.In explaining their rationale for offering in-person classes first to prekindergarten and some special education students, CPS officials cited enrollment figures they released Friday that show a drop of 34% in total preschool enrollment from last...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneOct 16, 2020 at 3:38 pmChicago Public Schools announced Friday that all students will continue with remote learning when the second quarter starts in November but that some of the district’s “most vulnerable” children will have the option to begin returning to schools before the end of the calendar year.In explaining their rationale for offering in-person classes first to prekindergarten and some special education students, CPS officials cited enrollment figures they released Friday that show a drop of 34% in total preschool enrollment from last...WW…

After a month of remote learning, Idalia Rizvic was getting headaches, feeling stressed and struggling to finish her schoolwork early enough to hang out with her family before bedtime. So last week, the eighth grader at Boone Elementary in West Rogers Park started an online petition to shorten the virtual school day. “Covid has been a stressful time for all, and online school adds onto that,” Idalia wrote. “We still get the same amount of work, and ‘homework’ has lost its purpose." After spring’s abrupt transition to remote learning, many students indicated they wanted more live instruction...…After a month of remote learning, Idalia Rizvic was getting headaches, feeling stressed and struggling to finish her schoolwork early enough to hang out with her family before bedtime. So last week, the eighth grader at Boone Elementary in West Rogers Park started an online petition to shorten the virtual school day. “Covid has been a stressful time for all, and online school adds onto that,” Idalia wrote. “We still get the same amount of work, and ‘homework’ has lost its purpose." After spring’s abrupt transition to remote learning, many students indicated they wanted more live instruction...WW…

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneSep 23, 2020 at 5:42 pmWednesday’s Chicago Board of Education meeting offered little clarity for everyone who wants to know if students will be back in classrooms when the second quarter begins in November.Allison Gorsuch, who has a child in kindergarten at Pulaski International School of Chicago, called on the board to be transparent and “release criteria for reopening as soon as possible,” including firm case numbers and positivity rates.Advertisement“Remote learning is not developmentally appropriate for kindergartners,” she said. “... I’ve watched my...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneSep 23, 2020 at 5:42 pmWednesday’s Chicago Board of Education meeting offered little clarity for everyone who wants to know if students will be back in classrooms when the second quarter begins in November.Allison Gorsuch, who has a child in kindergarten at Pulaski International School of Chicago, called on the board to be transparent and “release criteria for reopening as soon as possible,” including firm case numbers and positivity rates.Advertisement“Remote learning is not developmentally appropriate for kindergartners,” she said. “... I’ve watched my...WW…

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneSep 15, 2020 at 10:37 amThe first Chromebook wasn’t working, so Valerie Carroll went back to the school and got a new one. The replacement worked, but the first week of remote learning, her daughter’s class at Chicago’s Nicholson Elementary was derailed by images of pornography and guns.“The kids were in the class and all of a sudden you see porn, you see things that they shouldn’t see,” Carroll said. “They learned about porn, guns and threats, when they should have been learning about science, math, literacy."AdvertisementFrom what Carroll has gathered,...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneSep 15, 2020 at 10:37 amThe first Chromebook wasn’t working, so Valerie Carroll went back to the school and got a new one. The replacement worked, but the first week of remote learning, her daughter’s class at Chicago’s Nicholson Elementary was derailed by images of pornography and guns.“The kids were in the class and all of a sudden you see porn, you see things that they shouldn’t see,” Carroll said. “They learned about porn, guns and threats, when they should have been learning about science, math, literacy."AdvertisementFrom what Carroll has gathered,...WW…