Under the pilot, an unvaccinated student who is exposed to COVID-19 would be allowed to stay in school if they agree to testing on the first, third, fifth and seventh day after their exposure.

Evanston/Skokie District 65 had to cancel classes all week due to staffing shortages, but the problem isn’t limited to the district. Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents President Mark Klaisner says there’s an educator shortage statewide.

"The behavior uncovered revealed a stunning betrayal of trust and colossal failure of judgment in character on the part of far too many individuals," CPS CEO Pedro Martinez told media during a press conference Friday morning.

CPS CEO Pedro Martinez on Wednesday said his team is beginning to set up plans and solidify a specific health metric that can be used to decide when to shut down in-person learning within a school or across the district itself.

While the COVID-19 vaccine has now been approved for younger children, Chicago could find itself in the midst of another coronavirus surge this winter if families wait too long to get their children vaccinated, the city’s top doctor said Tuesday.

Classes for Chicago Public Schools students will be canceled Friday, Nov. 12 to allow families an opportunity to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19, now that the vaccine has been approved for kids ages 5 to 11.

“Our schools have been incredibly resilient throughout this pandemic, and CPS is committed to supporting our dedicated principals and staff as we navigate the unique challenges of the past and current school years,” CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said in a statement.

Chicago Public Schools on Wednesday announced that its 20th-day enrollment stands at 330,411 students. That’s a 3% decline from the 340,658 students who were enrolled in the district last year.

CPS officials on Thursday announced a five-year graduation rate for its high school students, while the district simultaneously recorded its lowest-ever one-year dropout rate.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said those staffers who are not fully vaccinated by Friday’s deadline must consent to weekly testing, but will not be immediately barred from working, as had previously been threatened.

Who would have imagined that students and their parents would be upset about not enough testing in schools? But that’s the case in Chicago, where the district’s been slow to roll out COVID-19 testing.

The policy change, which applies to unvaccinated students and takes effect Saturday, comes after more than 15,500 students were forced to quarantine during the first four weeks of the school year, but only 1.6% tested positive for COVID-19 after being exposed to the virus, according to officials.

Pedro Martinez, Chicago Public Schools’ new CEO, said Thursday the district will provide more COVID-19 testing and work harder to keep families in the loop on case information amid confusion and criticism through the first month of the school year.

The former Chicago Public Schools CEO is taking over a scholarship organization that’s promising to “redefine the education landscape” in Chicago.

Dr. Allison Arwady said investigators have not found any evidence that COVID-19 had been transmitted to students or teachers at Jensen Elementary School. “I know people are worried,” Arwady said. “The desire when something tragic like this happens is to pin blame on someone or something. But the blame here really belongs to the virus.”

Some Chicago public schools will retain their resource officers, following a split vote by the Board of Education to approve a one-year, $11 million contract with the Chicago Police Department.