CHICAGO (AP) β Students in the nation's third-largest school district returned to classrooms Wednesday after Chicago Public Schools canceled five days of classes amid a .
Their return happened the same day the full membership of the Chicago Teachers Union narrowly gave their stamp of approval to the hard-fought safety plan that includes expanded testing and metrics to shut down individual schools during outbreaks. It passed with roughly 56% of the vote.
Leaders of the union They urged members to accept it, acknowledging that including a commitment to flip to remote learning districtwide during a surge of COVID-19 infections.
βThis vote is a clear show of dissatisfaction with the boss," Union President Jesse Sharkey said in a statement, referring to Mayor Lori Lightfoot. βThis agreement covers only a portion of the safety guarantees that every one of our school communities deserve ... Our membersβ vote today represents a unionβs, and a cityβs, frustration with a mayor that has simmered since the beginning of this pandemic.
Lightfoot and Schools CEO Pedro Martinez issued a joint statement saying they were pleased with the vote and the agreement would guarantee βpredictability and stability for the rest of the school yearβ in the roughly 350,000-student district.
βWe all agree we must prioritize the health and well-being of everyone in our school communities including our kids, families, and staff," they said.
Chicago's struggles to keep educating children during the omicron variant's surge are similar to those faced by , but the latest high-profile fight between teachers and Lightfoot, a Democrat, and governor's office.
The union, , told teachers not to show up to schools starting Jan. 5 while talks took place. Lightfoot has referred to the union action as an βillegal work stoppage.β Both sides filed complaints with a state labor board.
Lightfoot β who that she had tested positive for COVID-19 and was isolating at home β repeatedly refused to agree to remote learning districtwide. She also opposed teachersβ demands for a testing program that could randomly test all students unless their parents opted out.
For parents and students in Chicago, the return to schools brought along with staffing and attendance issues due to infections.
Trinity Washington, a freshman at a high school on the cityβs Northwest Side, said she supported the teacherβs push and plans to be more cautious about keeping a mask on at school. She noted that a school dean has contracted COVID-19 and is on a ventilator.
βI feel like everyone should just go home and stay virtual because it feels like everyone in our building is just getting sick and sick and sick,β she said.
Some schools reported being short-staffed and lower attendance with students out sick or in required isolation following close contact to a person with COVID-19. District officials said about 89% of teachers reported to schools. The district's online COVID-19 infection tracker showed more than 13,000 students and adults were in quarantine on Wednesday.
Some individual classes reverted to remote instruction following infections in the two-day window students . One school in the city's heavily-Mexican neighborhood of Little Village was particularly hard hit with βup to 10 classroomsβ flipping to remote learning Wednesday, according to the district.
Derrontae Gonzalez, the mother of a 5-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl in Chicago schools, said she understands why teachers pushed for stricter COVID-19 protocols. But she told that the days of cancelled classes were difficult, particularly for her son who has a learning disability.
βIβm not concerned,β Gonzalez said of the return. βI think the school takes precautions to make sure kids are safe. And I make sure my kids have masks.β
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Sophia Tareen And Kathleen Foody, The Associated Press
