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 Students continue to sit behind laptops learning from home 10
months into the pandemic as the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public
Schools remain at a stalemate over in-person learning.
“My patience with delays from the CTU leadership is over,” Chicago Mayor Lori
Lightfoot said Feb. 4. On Feb. 5 she said the school district made its “last,
best and final” offer, with students potentially scheduled to return to class on
Feb. 8.
Families with diverse learners face a tough challenge. Sarah Sachen has a
10-year-old son with autism and her 7-year-old daughter takes a long time to
register information.
“I’ve been placed in this impossible position where I have to decide: ‘Do I want
to be their mother or their drill sergeant?’ Not every parent has the skills to
deal with that 24/7,” Sachen said.
In January, Chicago public schools opened to pre-K and special education
students for about three weeks before the Chicago Teachers Union urged its
members to stay home and continue remote teaching over COVID-19 safety measures.
The school district said the two sides had already agreed on major issues after
more than 80 sessions.
Lightfoot was adamant that her position to get students back in class stems from
what’s in the best interest of Chicago’s children, especially minorities. CPS
CEO Janice Jackson said she continues to hear from parents of diverse learners
trying to support their students’ needs, from essential workers who need the
child care, and from “countless Black and Latinx families who are falling
behind.”
“At this point, finding a public health expert who opposes in-person learning
would be like finding a scientist that doesn’t believe in climate change,”
Jackson said.
Al Molina, another CPS parent of diverse learners and a former school
administrator, said academic gaps widen the longer in-person learning is
delayed.
“I’m very worried about students with special education needs, whether they be
cognitive learning, physical or social-emotional. I’m very worried about
low-income families. I’m very worried about the sub-groups that traditionally
score lower than Caucasian students, or suburban students,” he said.
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“While some groups of children had achievement gaps
prior to the pandemic, I have to believe that they have just
increased.”
Research out of Columbia University confirms
Molina’s fears. A study in December 2020 found remote education
widens the achievement gap as it is less effective for disadvantaged
communities, which often lack support for remote education.
CTU insists on waiting to reopen until teachers are vaccinated or
the city-wide positivity rate falls below 3%, yet the research is
not on their side.
The Centers for Disease Control announced on Jan. 26, “there has
been little evidence that schools have contributed meaningfully to
increased community transmission.”
“Vaccination of teachers is not a prerequisite for safe reopening of
schools,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Feb. 2.
Anecdotal evidence from Chicago shows in-person learning is
relatively safe, with 40,000 parochial, charter and other public
school students safely in class.
“To know that a school a few blocks away from my house has in-person
learning and other neighboring districts that have in-person
learning saddens me as to why my children cannot participate in
in-person learning also,” Molina said.
CPS expects about 77,000 students, or one-third of its elementary
students, initially to attend class when in-person learning resumes.
CTU President Jesse Sharkey said an agreement is still possible if
the sides can agree on a phased approach, but he said a strike may
be necessary to get there. Because a contract is in place, a strike
would likely be illegal.
Chicago’s students are falling behind, some more than others.
Solutions to catch them up remain remote.
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