CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The chief of staff at the Chicago Teachers Union claimed there are serious inconsistencies in how COVID testing and vaccination programs are being run at Chicago Public Schools for students attending summer school.
Jen Johnson said the CTU and CPS have an agreement on how often students are tested for COVID.
Although some schools are carrying out the policies, Johnson said, others are not meeting the goals.
“The plan, on the surface, sounds very good: Weekly testing at a minimum of 10% of all students,” Johnson said. “But actually making that happen on a regular basis takes real effort and oversight, and some schools ... manage that and communicate well with students, families, and staff — and other schools are not.”
She also claimed efforts to get more students vaccinated are lacking at some schools.
“We’re particularly concerned because we’re seeing this new variant be highly transmissible,” Johnson said. “So it’s a moment to really make sure all the processes and systems in place are as strong and robust as possible at as many school sites as possible.”
In response to the union's claims, CPS released a written statement that reaffirmed plans for free weekly testing at schools, working with the union to increase student testing and vaccinations, and hiring captains for each school to lead COVID mitigation efforts.
“It’s never going to be perfect when you have over 500 or 600 schools,” Johnson said. “But we really should be making a concerted effort to create a baseline that’s strong at every school.”
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