CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The first day of class for Chicago Public Schools (CPS) got off to a hot start on Monday, and on the Northwest Side, Mayor Brandon Johnson was on-site to welcome students back to class.
The former teacher and Chicago Teachers Union organizer rang the traditional back-to-school bell outside McAuliffe Elementary.
"Doesn't it feel good to have a mayor that you don't have to protest?" Johnson said. "We've been through many struggles together to make sure that schools like McAuliffe have a school psychologist."
Despite a heat wave that's expected to bring heat indices into the triple digits on Monday and Tuesday, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said they have been running the air conditioning over the weekend so students walked into cool classrooms.
"All of our buildings, no matter how old they are, they do have window units in the classrooms," Martinez said. "We also have plenty of extra window units in case any of them go out."
The district has also canceled outdoor sports and recess for the first two days of school.
Ronald, a McAuliffe father, said he's not worried about the heat and is looking forward to the year ahead for his seventh grade son and twin first grade daughters.
"For them to just make some friends and have a productive year, you know, and see them grow and blossom," he said.
As for first-day-of-school jitters, it turns out that those aren't just for students: Antoinette Wellere told WBBM she was excited for her son Tarngy to start first grade and daughter Tinari to start kindergarten.
"I woke up at 3 o'clock because I was over-ready for them to get to school; that's how early I woke up," Wellere said.
To help get busing for disabled and homeless students amid ongoing challenges in finding drivers, CPS has adjusted start and end times at 36 schools.
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