CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- With the Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union at odds over the district's in-person reopening plan, the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association said it has come up with an alternative plan.
CPAA President Troy LaRaviere said principals were never consulted by CPS top administrators when CPS formed its own plan for in-person learning. He said principals believe the CPS plan will not work.
He said principals are problem-solvers and have their own plan.
"That’s pretty much our job at least half the days we’re in schools. What we do is solve problems," LaRaviere said.
The plan is called R.I.T.E.: Returning to an In-Person Teaching Environment.
“Principals and assistant principals have never left their schools, working daily ensuring the distribution of school-based meals and thousands of laptops and mobile wifi devices to our students and their families,” said CPAA President Troy LaRaviere. “For the last few months, we have been the key people charged with making the district’s in-person learning plan work in our schools. As a result, no group of educators has more insight than us on the best way to open schools, and on the safety and efficacy of the district’s plan.”
The new three-step plan was developed by CPAA leadership based on input from 377 school leaders, and fine-tuning by more than 30 CPS principals and assistant principals throughout the district. The plan includes:
• Open a small group of in-person pilot schools (e.g., 75) and make COVID-19 vaccinations a priority for the staff in that group.
• Focus the district’s human and material resources on ensuring the success of the pilot schools.
• If successful, expand the pilot every three to four weeks as groups of schools demonstrate preparedness and readiness for in-person learning.
“The phase-in pilot gives the district the time needed to address preparedness issues at some schools, start in-person learning at schools that are ready and expand in-person learning over time,” LaRaviere said. “It is a fair compromise between the positions of the district and CTU.”
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LaRaviere said he’s shared the plan with the mayor and school officials.
He also appeared during the public participation portion of Wednesday's CPS school board meeting to outline the plan. Some of the benefits of the R.I.T.E. plan are, it acknowledges that some schools are ready to open, while others are not; it enables the district to focus resources on getting it right in a small group of schools before expanding in-person learning to the entire district; it is a strong compromise that will avoid a strike; and more.
Schools CEO Janice Jackson said the CPS plan does what the principals are proposing by phasing in schools for in-person learning. She said, though, studies have shown it is safe for teachers and students to return in-person with proper mitigations such as as mask-wearing, physical distancing, hand sanitation, and proper air filtering. She said having staff vaccinated would be another "tool" that could be used to open more safely, but is not necessary for schools to reopen.
LaRaviere said CPS’ current plan is unworkable.
"No matter how sincere the district’s faith in its plans is, we need them to understand that their faith does not square with the reality of implementation on the ground in most schools," he said.
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LaRaviere said, at a Wednesday morning Zoom news conference, that a survey of principals found that 64 percent of them do not believe CPS should open for in-person instruction this month or in February. He said only 22 percent of administrators, who responded, reported having enough staff to carry out the CPS plan.
LaRaviere said the principals' plan would be more enticing to teachers, because of its COVID-19 vaccination component.
"The pilot would allow the city to prioritize vaccinations on a smaller group of staff who are part of the pilot. And, that would definitely make more teachers want to be a part of the pilot, which will in turn improve and stabilize staffing at those schools," he said.
He also said principals believe they will get the blame from the community if the CPS plan fails, even without the proper workforce or material resources. He said one principal said, "They use our credibility to get buy-in from the community, but when the district’s plans fail, it will be my failure in the eyes of the community.
"Something has to happen to help them to come to grips with the fact that what they’re saying is not actually what’s happening. They may believe they’re telling the truth, but they’re telling untruths," LaRaviere said.
For the entire R.I.T.E. plan, click here.