CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — More than 30 Chicago aldermen have sent a letter to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson saying the city's plan to send students and staff back to school is not safe.
Starting Monday, CPS is requiring early childhood teachers, special education teachers, special education classroom assistants and other classroom assistants assigned to cluster classrooms, as well as some related service providers and clinicians who support students in these classrooms, to return to in-person instruction. The first students won't be back in class until Jan. 11.
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The city council members said, among other things, that in a recent CPS survey, less than a quarter of CPS families opted for in-person learning.
The alderman said that in order to provide for a safe return to in-person learning they urge CPS to take the following steps: Establish and promote clear public health criteria for reopening, and share a detailed testing and contact-tracing plan.
They also want CPS to improve the technology infrastructure to which students have access — notably, the internet connectivity for all students participating in remote learning and the aldermen said there needs to be greater collaboration with the Chicago Teachers Union and the Illinois State Board of Education.