CHICAGO — As the standoff between Chicago Public Schools and the teachers union led classes to be canceled for the third day, more than 100 school administrators signed a letter saying they do not want to take on the “demoralizing task” of determining if their school has enough staff to teach students in person amid the ongoing omicron surge.
“This is a districtwide crisis and we need a districtwide strategy. It should not be an ad hoc reactionary response that creates inequities that are predictable among social and economic lines,” read a statement issued Thursday by the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association, which said it had been signed by more than 100 principals and assistant principals.
Classes were canceled Friday across the district as negotiations between CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union stretched into Thursday evening. However, CPS officials said individual schools could reopen for in-person activities Friday if enough staff was present, which many principals said was not the case.
Administrators of some schools — including William H. Brown STEM Magnet School in the Near West Side neighborhood, Rufus M. Hitch Elementary School in Norwood Park and Kate Starr Kellogg Elementary School in Beverly — told parents to expect to hear from them by 4 p.m. Friday about Monday plans.
CTU President Jesse Sharkey said in a statement that the union saw movement in negotiations Thursday, “more than we’ve seen in the last few months.”
But Sharkey said the union is sticking to its demands of a negative COVID-19 test result to return to buildings; a “massive increase” in the district’s in-school weekly testing program; and a shift to remote learning at any school where 20% or more of the staff is in isolation or quarantine, or when the school’s safety committee decides a transition is necessary.
In a statement Thursday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said bargaining with the union started at noon Thursday and lasted into the evening. She and CPS CEO Pedro Martinez “found the sessions productive from our perspective.” Negotiations are expected to continue Friday afternoon.
The Chicago Principals and Administrators Association said principals were informed Wednesday morning that schools would be closed Thursday and Friday, and that remote learning or a hybrid mix of in-person and virtual learning could start Monday based on capacity. Students would return to buildings for full-time, in-person learning starting Jan. 18, which aligns with the measure the teachers union approved this week.
The principals group said administrators were “blindsided” Wednesday night when CPS said that some schools could open Friday if the principals decided to do so.
“As school principals, we have been doing what seems like impossible work and holding it together for our students, parents, and staff members who are already exhausted. We opened schools on Monday and Tuesday of this week with the staff we had and taught classes ourselves to ensure that instruction would continue for our students,” the statement read.
“To tell principals schools would be closed this week, and then blindside us just a few hours later with a public statement that principals will decide to either open or close our schools on Friday is offensive and unsafe. It removes district management from the responsibility of making and explaining difficult decisions on school reopening and puts principals right in the line of fire.”
Students attended school Monday and Tuesday before the union voted to refuse in-person work from Wednesday until Jan. 18 unless CPS stepped up its approach to COVID-19. CPS and city health officials have repeatedly said the protocols in place, such as indoor masking, weekly testing and prompt contact tracing, are good enough.
The district reported 840 new student COVID-19 cases and 647 new adult infections from Monday through Wednesday. The district reported nearly 1,000 new cases — its largest weekly total of 2021 — as students and staff members headed into their two-week winter break last month and the highly transmissible omicron variant made its presence known in Chicago.
On Thursday, the district did not follow its standard practice of reporting the number of students and staff members in quarantine or isolation on its online, public dashboard. There were 9,000 students and a record 2,300 staff members in quarantine or isolation Wednesday evening, according to district data.
The district said about 13% of CTU teachers and around 16% of substitute teachers showed up for work Thursday. Staff members who don’t come to buildings don’t get paid, the district said. Some teachers reported being locked out of their virtual classrooms after Tuesday’s union vote.
English teacher Fannetta Jones said she tried to log into the district system early Wednesday but was unsuccessful. The lack of access creates a barrier between her and her students, she said.
“When we voted, we voted to teach remotely, not to stop working completely,” Jones said. “We want to teach and not lose any more time than we’ve lost within the space of this pandemic.”
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