For the first time since March 2020, students are attending classes inside Chicago Public School buildings.
WBBM Radio reports that about 6,000 pre-kindergarten and some special education students returned Monday for in-person learning—the first phase of a return to in-person instruction for students who do not want to learn remotely.
Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson says any teachers who are supposed to show up in-person for work Monday, but do not will be considered absent without leave, and will not be paid.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Teachers Union wants the school district to delay a return to in-person instruction until all employees have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Last week, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city's public school system would move forward with reopening some classrooms , despite objections by the teachers union and many aldermen.
The Chicago Tribune reports that Lightfoot asserted that remote learning “is not sustainable, not over the long term, because it does not serve every student equally, especially those students who are younger, who require additional help and support and simply don’t have access to a sustainable learning environment."
After delaying reopening several times amid strong opposition from the teachers union, Chicago district leaders announced plans to begin bringing its first students back on Monday, including pre-kindergarten and some special education students.
Parents were given a choice about whether to send their children back to classrooms, and about 35% of those eligible to return Monday, or about 6,500 children, chose the in-person option, the district says.
The district's plan calls for the bulk of remaining students — virtually all kindergarten through eighth graders — to begin in-person classes on Feb. 1, with a hybrid of remote and in-school classes. Of that group of students, about 77,000 have chosen the in-person option.
No return date has been set for high school students.
Jackson says the district has made a $100 million investment toward COVID-19-related school safety.
But the teachers union has continued to oppose reopening plans. Leaders say they’re skeptical of the district’s ability to mitigate the risk of Covid-19 transmission in schools.
