|
 The Chicago Teachers Union’s
refusal to teach in person is costing 340,000 Chicago Public Schools students a
second day of classes.
The union and school district met Jan. 5 and negotiated over COVID-19 testing
and safety protocol on the first day of the teacher walkout. Teachers said they
will not return until at least Jan. 18, unless COVID-19 infections drop
drastically.
CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said remote learning will not be available until at least
Jan. 10. He said classes were canceled for Jan. 6.
Students ultimately pay for canceled classes through diminished academic
achievement. Chicago students can’t afford poorer performance.
Chicago schools continue to underperform the state academic achievement
benchmarks year after year. Nearly 1 in 4 CPS students don’t graduate high
school.
Almost a quarter of CPS students are chronically absent – with almost a third of
students chronically truant.
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One study found long
teacher work stoppages of 10 or more days have a significant
negative effect on math test scores, especially in grades 5 and 6.
Another found that extended work disruptions have negative effects
on math and English achievement.
The pandemic already has damaged student achievement, especially for
minority students. CPS has an 87% minority enrollment, and about 70%
of students are low-income.
The pandemic is already expected to cost today’s student $49,000 to
$61,000 in earnings during their lifetimes, according to a study by
McKinsey and Co. The study also found 35% of parents are very or
extremely concerned about their children’s mental health from school
closures.
At a time when student achievement is already suffering, and Chicago
students were already challenged, the Chicago Teachers Union is
doing student no favors by keeping them out of class. |
