Parents, Students Put Pressure On CPS, CTU For A Safe Return To In-Person Learning
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Parents and students are putting on the pressure to get kids back in class.
A group of community members want the Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union to work out a safe way for kids to learn in classrooms again.
"I miss my friends. It's hard to make relationships with teachers and friends behind a screen," said seventh grader Elizabeth Preston. "Mayor Lightfoot, please – I promise I will wear my mask – please let me go back to school."
Kindergarten through eighth grade teachers were scheduled to return to classrooms Monday, but CPS delayed that return to Wednesday.
K-8 students are scheduled to come back to the classroom on Feb. 1.
CTU rank-and-file teachers voted to defy an order from Chicago Public Schools to return to in-person instruction.
In-person learning for pre-K and special education cluster classes will continue. The district says more than 70% of those teachers showed up to school as expected last week.
Union leadership insisted teachers want to go back to the classroom, but they also want decisions on who returns and who stays remote made on a case-by-case basis.
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