CTU members accept reopening deal
Wednesday, Jan 12, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* And it’s done…
* Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPS CEO Pedro Martinez…
We are pleased we have come to an agreement that guarantees predictability and stability for the rest of the school year. We all agree we must prioritize the health and well-being of everyone in our school communities including our kids, families, and staff. The science tells us that the safest place for our students is to be in the classroom, which is why, in addition to the over $100 million already spent on COVID mitigation, CPS is providing KN95 masks, augmenting its every school-every week testing program, and strengthening its contact tracing approach. CPS principals will continue to work with their school-based safety teams to make data-informed decisions in the best interests of students and families. We encourage families to get their children vaccinated and to consent to regular testing. We look forward to our continued collaboration with the entire school community
* Meanwhile, from the Southern…
An upswing in positive COVID-19 test results has forced one area school district to cancel classes and another warning it may do the same because of staff shortages.
With nearly one-fourth of its student population out, Galatia Community Unit School District No. 1 has cancelled all classes, extra-curricular activities and sporting events until Tuesday, Jan. 18 and Herrin Superintendent Nathaniel Wilson has said that closures may be coming to his district.
In a letter to parents posted on social media yesterday, Galatia Superintendent Shain Crank said the district had almost 100 students absent Tuesday and with several staff members testing positive for the virus, the district’s ability to staff buildings and serve bus routes has been impacted. […]
Also in a social media post to families Tuesday, Herrin Community Unit School District No. 4 Superintendent Nathaniel Wilson conveyed challenges facing the district because of COVID-19.
* News-Gazette…
Urbana Middle School opted for remote learning through the end of the week, amid an ongoing staff shortage.
“As of this morning, there is still a high number of staff unable to attend in-person for various reasons, this includes COVID and non-COVID absences,” said Urbana District Superintendent Jennifer Ivory-Tatum in a message to families. “We anticipate students returning to in-person learning on Tuesday, January 18, following the MLK Holiday, which was already a non-student attendance day.”
- Ashland Adam - Wednesday, Jan 12, 22 @ 10:43 pm:
Chicago media sorta milking the drama of Mayor/CPS vs. Teachers, but schools need support, if they’re going to function safely. Abs remain stable institutions of learning.
And there isn’t will or humility on the part of those with real power to do that. So, they kick the problem of developing and implementing Covid processes to the schools, without additional resources, and let the principals and school staff fumble through.
- PublicServant - Thursday, Jan 13, 22 @ 5:45 am:
=== We encourage families to get their children vaccinated and to consent to regular testing. ===
Gimme a break. Continuing Word Salad from CPS.
OPT OUT
- RNUG - Thursday, Jan 13, 22 @ 6:53 am:
== The science tells us that the safest place for our students is to be in the classroom … ===
Nope. Science says complete isolation (aka distance learning) is safest from covid. If you want to broaden the definition of safest to include mitigation of social isolation issues, that is a different beast.
Those kind of blanket statements are why nobody believes anything any politician says about covid anymore.
Now if they had said relatively low risk as a result of testing and what appears to be better immunity by kids, I could have agreed with that.
No, what this is all about is getting parents back to work, and to do that you have to have some kind of day care for the kids, aka school and afterschool programs. Got to get that economic recovery miracle on track before the mid-term elections.
- turkeyhunter - Thursday, Jan 13, 22 @ 9:14 am:
Did HB 2778 ever get a decision from the governor. I have looked all over for current info, and all I can see is that it was sent to the governor, and that was over 70 days ago?
- Amalia - Thursday, Jan 13, 22 @ 9:18 am:
56%. interesting. as is the Mt. Greenwood school going it on their own. Murkier issues than the leadership would have us believe when they started the action.
- Ashland Adam - Thursday, Jan 13, 22 @ 9:36 am:
HB 2778 sent to the Gov on 11/30, so he has until the end of the month to take action (or not).
- Ashland Adam - Thursday, Jan 13, 22 @ 9:39 am:
Not really murky. SW corner of the city historically opposed to all CTU leadership (except for one - who was form the neighborhood, and had an Irish name). The 44% opposed to the agreement felt the Mayor and CPS should have done more to make schools safe, to build up testing (not just random 10%), etc.
- WestBurbs - Thursday, Jan 13, 22 @ 9:53 am:
I also find the 56/44 split weird. I suspect - without any insider knowledge or other factual basis
— that some who voted no were not strong supporters of remote learning but, rather, were trying to express displeasure with CTU leadership for leading them to a fight that they lost pretty badly. Basically, 4 days pay in exchange for a couple N95 masks.
- NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham - Thursday, Jan 13, 22 @ 10:22 am:
==as is the Mt. Greenwood school going it on their own==
Mother McAuley (all-girls) and Brother Rice (all-boys) Catholic high schools are also in Mt. Greenwood. I wonder if there’s a sizable percentage of Mt. Greenwood residents that instead attend those schools, and the corresponding private grade schools, instead of CPS?
Much like in Springfield I would anticipate the vast majority of any school children who live in Leland Grove would more likely attend SHG rather than 186.