Chicago Teachers Union members have voted two to one in favor of a reopening deal with Chicago Public Schools, signaling that in-person classes can resume Thursday as planned.
The Chicago Tribune reports that under the tentative framework, the first group of students and staff — pre-K and special education cluster programs — returns on Thursday. When schools briefly opened to those groups in January, fewer than 1 in 5 eligible students attended.
Subsequent groups' returns will be staggered; staff will come back ahead of students: Kindergarten through fifth grade staff go back Feb. 22, followed by their students on March 1. Sixth through eighth grade staff go back March 1, followed by their students on March 8
More than 20,000 of the union's 25,000 members voted. More than two-thirds voted yes, and nearly a third voted no. Only a simple majority was needed to pass.
In a letter to members, Union President Jesse Sharkey said the plan represents where the parties should have started months ago.
“We did not get what we wanted or what we deserved,” Sharkey said. “We got what we were able to take."
Following the union's vote, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Schools CEO Janice Jackson issued a joint statement that the agreement "ensures families have options to choose in-person learning and make a plan that is best for them."
