CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The head of the Chicago Teachers Union said high school teachers are back in school buildings Monday, but they may not be there after Wednesday unless there’s progress on a plan for a safe return to in-person learning.
Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey said still to be ironed out are schedules, questions about safe work spaces for teachers, setting up a vaccination program for older students, and making accommodations for teachers with vulnerable health conditions.
“We’re asking for some basic safeguards and some reassurances that we’re not pouring gasoline onto a fire, that we’re not making an unsafe situation worse,” Sharkey said.
Second grade teacher Veronica Dorado has leukemia and had a bone marrow transplant last year. She is still trying to get permission to teach remotely.
“Every time I open an email from CPS, I feel like I’m the one to blame for getting cancer," she said.
The union and Chicago Public School officials are scheduled to continue negotiations Monday. Sharkey said high school teachers will teach from home or outside their school buildings starting Wednesday if no progress towards an agreement is reached with CPS.
"Make the reopening plan make sense, make it safe. And if we do not see that, members of the CTU are not going back into buildings under those conditions," Sharkey said.
More than 5,300 high school teachers are affected.
Because teachers will be in school buildings Tuesday, too, high school juniors will be able to take the SAT in some schools.
CPS wants high school students who have chosen in-person learning to be back in classes next Monday, April 19.
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