Since Chicago Public Schools were closed to in-person learning in March, the move to remote learning has been difficult for many families. But for the CPS families who speak Spanish at home, there is an additional barrier.
Education


Less than 60% of Chicago Public Schools teachers returned as expected for in-person learning prep this week. School district officials said those who don't show up beginning Monday will not be eligible for pay.

The Chicago Public Schools watchdog unit tasked with investigating reports of sexual abuse opened more than 400 new cases last year, including allegations of a teacher who sexually assaulted a student and a registered sex offender who was able to work as a volunteer.

CPS CEO Janice Jackson said 49.7% of teachers returned Monday, one week before in-person learning is set to resume for some 17,000 students. Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates weighs in on “Chicago Tonight.”

More than 5,800 Chicago Public Schools employees were due back in their classrooms Monday to prepare for students’ return next week. But not all of them showed up.

A cross section of aldermen — including some of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s closest allies — urged her on Sunday to rethink her plan to reopen the Chicago Public Schools for in-person learning, 24 hours before the first teachers must report to school buildings for work.
CPS says councils don’t have authority to do so

Representatives of a Portage Park high school on Tuesday unanimously approved a measure saying students and staff will not be allowed into the building following winter break “until it is safe to return to in-person learning.”

Chicago Public Schools on Tuesday announced that 5,833 of its 7,002 pre-K and cluster program staff members will be heading back to schools when in-person learning resumes for those students on Jan. 11.

“We extend our sincere gratitude to leaders in Washington — and especially our Chicago delegation — who have prioritized the needs of public school students throughout the country,” CPS CEO Janice Jackson said in a statement.

In any year, applying for college can be a stressful time for high school students. But like so many other things this year, the pandemic has made the application process even more uncertain and difficult.

Through the program, the school district will provide $310,000 in tuition reimbursement for educators who will work to earn a special education endorsement at one of four Chicago-area universities

The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board issued a 2-1 vote denying the teachers union’s request for an injunction to halt Chicago Public Schools’ plan to reopen schools for in-person learning early next year.

CPS CEO Janice Jackson and school leaders say 77,343 students plan to return to schools beginning in January and February 2021. That’s about about 37% of eligible pre-K through eighth grade students.

Starting a new job is always demanding, but when that job is university president and the year is 2020, it comes with a few extra challenges. We check in with Cheryl Green, the new president of Governors State University.

How neighbors in some Chicago communities are stepping up to help students with remote learning when their parents can’t work from home.

CTU President Jesse Sharkey signed on to an open letter sent to President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday from 16 local teachers unions and organizations, calling on Biden to appoint “one of our own” as his chief advisor on education.