CHICAGO — Chicago Teachers Union members who are refusing to return to the classroom said Monday they’re worried about losing their jobs but they believe that reopening schools is a greater risk.
“We’re afraid for our lives. We don’t want to lose our jobs. The fear of losing our jobs is real. Many of us are the sole income earners in our homes,” Chicago Public Schools teacher Lori Torres said. “But the fear of this virus is greater than that fear.”
Torres and other union members spoke at a news conference early Monday, a day after the union announced that some of its members would not report to work on Monday because they don’t trust that CPS’ reopening plan is safe and equitable.
About 5,800 teachers and other staff members who serve preschoolers and some special education students were expected to return to classrooms on Monday, with those students due to return on Jan. 11, which would mark the first in-person classes in CPS since the coronavirus prompted a statewide shutdown of schools in March.
About another 850 staff members were granted leave or an accommodation exempting them from in-person teaching.
But for other employees, “it is the district’s expectation that teachers without an accommodation report to work tomorrow, just as principals, custodial staff, engineers, and food service staff have throughout the entirety of the pandemic,” CPS spokeswoman Emily Bolton said in a statement, which did not address whether disciplinary action would be taken against teachers who decline to show up.
Parents were given the option to continue with remote learning — an option the CTU noted was chosen at a much higher rate by Black and Latino families. But union members also criticized the expectation that they teach simultaneously to in-person and at-home students.
Torres said the plan will only weaken remote learning. Teachers “are expected to be two people,” overseeing students in the classroom and on the screen.
CPS has also cited equity as a major concern, pointing to data showing that Black and Latino students are seeing lower participation and grades in remote learning.
“The CTU has not identified any area where the district’s plan falls short of public health guidelines and the CTU’s last-minute tactics are deeply disrespectful to the 77,000 mostly Black and Latinx families who selected in-person learning,” Bolton said.
“The overwhelming scientific evidence, expert guidance and experiences of school districts across Illinois are clear: schools can safely reopen with a comprehensive plan in place,” she also said.
The union has said those anecdotes and data don’t take into account the high levels of community spread seen particularly in some areas of the city. CTU members and officials have also questioned why schools should reopen now when teachers could be months away from receiving the coronavirus vaccine.
“It’s a half-baked (reopening) plan. If all of us were vaccinated, for me, I would feel safer,” said Quentin Washington, a CPS teacher who was due to return to school Monday.
He also cited the lack of a requirement that those entering schools show they’ve tested negative for the virus.
“The biggest gaping hole is no testing mandate,” Washington said. “That’s a big problem for me.”
