Remote learning will continue for Chicago Public Schools students as the district and the Chicago Teachers Union cool their heels for the next two days after making "substantial progress" in negotiations, according to a statement from Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPS CEO Janice Jackson.
The two said they have secured an agreement on one 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."
Rather than blocking educators' access to their Google Suites this afternoon, as they had threatened on Sunday, teachers will still be able to log in on Tuesday and Wednesday and teach remotely "as a gesture of good faith," according to the statement. The district didn't offer any specifics on the content of the agreement, but said they would update families "as there are further developments."
CTU President Jesse Sharkey said in a statement that "this move to resolve our differences at the table, at least for the next two days, ensures that our rank and file members can continue to educate the overwhelming majority of Black and Latinx students who continue to choose remote learning."
“We don’t want a strike," he added in the statement. "We want to keep working remotely as we bargain an agreement to return to our classrooms safely. And we're one step closer to that goal today, because management has agreed to stay at the table rather than escalating conflict or locking out educators."
The announcement follows weeks of tense back-and-forth between the city and the union, with Mayor Lori Lightfoot saying the union had frequently moved the goalposts and had offered the city a “bag of nothing.” CTU has said repeatedly the mayor was misrepresenting negotiations and had derailed them herself.
Union delegates approved a plan to continue teaching remotely in defiance of CPS’ reopening plan, with the intention of striking if the district barred teachers from accessing their remote learning platforms on Google Suites.
CPS had warned a work stoppage would be illegal under the provisions of the contract reached in the aftermath of an 11-day strike in 2019. But union leadership argued the move to teach remotely when CPS ordered them to return to schools did not amount to a strike, since educators would still be working.
National studies and the experience of local private and Catholic schools show that in-person instruction can be done safely with proper mitigations in place, according to the district. CTU has pushed back, saying that those studies don't reflect the racial or demographic makeup of the nation's third largest school district, and that private and Catholic schools tend to be more affluent.
The union's battle with the city has attracted national attention, with President Joe Biden—who has made safe school openings a priority—twice weighing in. Lightfoot and CPS CEO Janice Jackson have both taken to national news outlets to argue CPS’ reopening plans were safe and followed CDC guidance.
In the meantime, the constantly-shifting plans for pre-K, cluster, and elementary classes have caused confusion for parents. About one in five eligible students actually came back to the classrooms while they were open. High school educators have been teaching remotely for the duration, and are not yet scheduled to return to classrooms.
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February 02, 2021 at 06:45AM
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City again delays in-person learning, citing 'progress' in negotiations with CTU - Crain's Chicago Business
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