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.
Janice Jackson
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.
Remote learning scheduled again for CPS students 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.
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.
Negotiations between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union have failed to produce a deal to allow approximately 70,000 Chicago students to return to schools Monday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a news conference late Friday night.
As of Thursday night, a deal to get teachers back in school remained elusive. “We would have expected by now to make a lot more progress,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.
For the second day in a row, Chicago Public Schools is telling the parents of pre-kindergarten and special education cluster program students to keep their kids at home Thursday as the district and Chicago Teachers Union have not yet reached agreement on a safe school reopening plan.
Board President Miguel del Valle on Wednesday said Chicago Public Schools “sincerely wants to come to an agreement” with the Chicago Teachers Union on a safe school reopening plan as a potential teachers strike looms.
In a letter to parents, Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson said the district has “no choice but to ask parents to keep your children home” after the teachers union instructed its members not to report for in-person work Wednesday ahead of a possible strike.
The district on Tuesday announced it had entered into partnerships with five community organizations to “reimagine” school safety strategies as new alternatives to the existing school resource officer program.
Chicago Public Schools said 60% of the 5,352 pre-kindergarten and special education cluster program students who opted for in-person learning showed up at their school last week. That amounts to about 3,200 students.
The state of Illinois is expanding vaccine eligibility beginning Monday, meaning school-based staff and other front-line employees will be able to start getting inoculated
Voting members of the Chicago Teachers Union approved a resolution Wednesday night which could mark the first step toward a potential strike if the union can’t reach a deal with Chicago Public Schools on a safe reopening plan amid the coronavirus pandemic.
CPS CEO Janice Jackson said the school district is still having conversations with the Chicago Teachers Union on in-person staffing levels, and she believes “we’ll get to a resolution on that.” But she said the conversation can no longer be about whether or not to reopen schools.
