(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Chicago Public Schools classes will remain virtual on Tuesday and Wednesday, Mayor Lightfoot said Monday as she indicated progress in COVID-19 safety talks with the Chicago Teachers Union.
Lightfoot said the next two days would represent a “48-hour cooling off period” that hopefully leads to a deal that would bring many teachers back to buildings.
CPS officials have sought to reopen schools in phases, with health safety precautions in place, to help students and families that have struggled during online learning. The CTU claims administrators’ plans put educators at risk of coronavirus infection.
Both sides have been negotiating conditions for several days.
“We have secured agreement on one other open issue and made substantial progress on a framework that we hope will address the remaining issues,” Lightfoot said in a joint statement with CPS CEO Janice Jackson.
They said the teachers that already were expected to be back at schools will not be locked out of virtual classrooms this week. The CTU has said that would trigger a strike.
The CTU also issued a written statement, saying it’s “heartening” that both sides will continue bargaining. And CTU President Jesse Sharkey says “real progress” has been made at the negotiating table.
CPS, the nation’s third-largest school district, serves 341,000 students within 638 schools.
Here is Lightfoot and Jackson's complete statement:
“We have reached another important milestone today in our efforts to provide in-person learning for our students in the Chicago Public Schools system. We have secured agreement on one other open issue and made substantial progress on a framework that we hope will address the remaining issues. We are calling for a 48-hour cooling off period that will hopefully lead to a final resolution on all open issues. As a result of the progress we have made, and as a gesture of good faith, for now, teachers will retain access to their Google Suite. Students will remain virtual Tuesday and Wednesday and we will update the CPS school community as there are further developments.”
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