The Illinois State Board of Education is working on a new set of teaching standards for what it calls “culturally sensitive and responsive teaching.” We hear about the possible pros and cons of the new rule.

Just after midnight Wednesday, the Chicago Teachers Union said 13,681 of its members voted to approve the tentative agreement with Chicago Public Schools, meaning the school reopening plan is now finalized and the city will avoid its second teachers strike in 15 months.

The Chicago Teachers Union’s governing body voted Monday night to ask its members to approve a deal that would allow in-person learning to resume at Chicago Public Schools for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic forced schools to close in March 2020 — and avert the second strike in 15 months.

The former chemistry teacher who went on to battle former Mayor Rahm Emanuel throughout her tenure as the head of the Chicago Teachers Union, and nearly ran for mayor herself, has died. She was 67 years old.

With Black history month underway, we take a closer look at how and what we teach our children about Black history with state Rep. La Shawn Ford, a former Chicago Public Schools teacher, and Maureen Tatsuko Loughnane, executive director of the nonprofit Facing History and Ourselves.

https://news.wttw.com/2021/02/08/ctu-delegates-ok-deal-allow-person-learning-resumeMembers of the Chicago Teachers Union are reviewing the framework of a deal that would allow in-person learning to resume at Chicago Public Schools for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic forced schools to close in March 2020 — and avert the second strike in 15 months.

Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey accused Mayor Lori Lightfoot of cutting off negotiations by issuing a “final offer.” He said the union is “deeply disappointed” by that decision.

“We are deeply disappointed to announce that we still have not reached a deal,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Thursday.

“We are disappointed to report that at this time, no deal has been reached between CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union leadership,” the school district said in a tweet late Wednesday.

The tug of war between the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools is still on, as the vaccine rollout bumps along. Our politics team of Amanda Vinicky, Paris Schutz and Heather Cherone weighs in on that story and more in this week’s roundtable.

The Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative is preparing gifted students for higher education and careers in music — and debunking myths along the way.

Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Teachers Union negotiators spent Tuesday back at the bargaining table as they attempt to reach an agreement on how to reopen schools safely. Districts and teachers throughout the Chicago area have likewise worked to broker agreements, to varying degrees of success.

Pressure is building on school systems around the U.S. to reopen classrooms to students who have been learning online for nearly a year, pitting politicians against teachers who have yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Monday was supposed to be the first day back for thousands of Chicago Public Schools students who wanted to return to in-person learning. Instead, it was another day of remote learning — and it’s just the sort of last-minute maneuvering that’s frustrating parents.

Chicago teachers who did not show up for in-person work Monday will not be locked out of their Google education suites in a “gesture of good faith” from city leaders hoping to reach a deal over a safe school reopening plan and avoid a potential strike.

The absence of an agreement on how best to protect teachers and students from COVID-19 sets the stage for a strike or lockout — the second work stoppage in Chicago schools in 15 months.