In Chicago, philanthropy paid for nearly half the $50 million, four-year Chicago Connected program, which pays for kids’ home internet if they qualify for reduced-price lunches. Chicago Public Schools, the country’s third-largest district, is on the hook for $25 million.

After a year of online or hybrid learning, educators continue to juggle a variety of roles — including providing tech support to some students — all while trying to keep safe from coronavirus. Meanwhile, on the other side of the screen, some students and their families have struggled to keep up.

Proponents of a new bill signed into law Monday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker say it will “change the face of education” in Illinois by improving access and equity across the state’s education system through an expanded early intervention program, annual readiness assessments and more.

“We’re super excited about the fact that at this point, all elementary grade students that want an option for in-person (learning) now have an option for in-person instruction, which is really good,” CPS CEO Janice Jackson said.

Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Teachers Union officials met for the first time Wednesday to begin negotiations about how to safely resume in-person learning in the city’s high schools, according to the district’s Chief Education Officer LaTanya McDade. 

During her 2019 mayoral campaign, Lori Lightfoot expressed support for an elected school board, saying in interviews she wanted to “make sure that parents truly have a seat at the table.” Yet Chicago remains the lone city in the state to have its school board appointed by the mayor.

Tens of thousands more Chicago Public Schools students returned to their classrooms Monday, many for the first time in nearly a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as the district continues its school reopening plan.

The Chicago Board of Education has approved a new measure allowing Chicago Public Schools to track which teachers and employees have gotten a COVID-19 vaccine. Down the line, it would allow the district to require vaccinations.

“We know that many high school students and families are eager to learn more about their return to in-person instruction,” CPS CEO Janice Jackson said Wednesday, “and it is our goal to provide them with a safe in-person option this school year.”

“There's not a requirement for employment for everyone (to get the vaccine),” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said during a press conference Tuesday. “But we certainly want to encourage everyone to take advantage of this life-saving vaccine.”

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Thousands of preschool and special education students will resume in-person learning Wednesday, a day after all Chicago Public Schools students worked from home following a mammoth snowfall across the city.

As a winter storm threatens the Chicago area with a foot or more of snow, Chicago Public Schools has announced it will suspend in-person learning for students Tuesday and only expects essential building staff to report to schools.

Chicago Public Schools on Friday announced it will open four school-based COVID-19 vaccination sites next week so it can begin distributing 1,500 first-dose vaccines to teachers and employees each week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its long-awaited road map for getting students back to classrooms. But the agency cannot force schools to reopen, and agency officials were careful to say they are not calling for a mandate that all U.S. schools be reopened.

Now that Chicago Public Schools has reached an agreement with the Chicago Teachers Union over a safe reopening plan, CPS CEO Janice Jackson said she’s committed to using the framework of that deal to get high school students back into their schools.