Chicago Teachers Union approves deal to reopen high schools Monday
Source: Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Teachers Union has voted to approve a plan to reopen high schools starting Monday, the union said Sunday.
The union tweeted Sunday that The CTU Rules & Elections Committee has certified the ballot results of the high school addendum to our reopening agreement with CPS. Members voted 83% in favor of ratification.
The addendum is now a ratified agreement between our union and the district.
The vote to reopen public high schools to students for the first time since they were closed last year due to the pandemic was expected, after union President Jesse Sharkey said the deal was approved overwhelmingly by CTUs House of Delegates late Thursday.
Read more: https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-teachers-union-approves-high-school-reopen-20210418-ge4axunbq5dczaailysncetvtm-story.html
greenjar_01
(6,477 posts)For those of you around the country, please understand, most students in Chicago Public Schools have been remote schooling since March 2020 with no break or partial restart. Many high school freshman have never met for classes in their high schools. CPS is starting alternating pod classes this week: Monday-Tuesday pods and Thursday-Friday pods, so most students will still be on a hybrid (in-person two days, remote three days) schedule through the end of the year.
Withywindle
(9,988 posts)She's OK with this, and she's a big union activist so she would say so if she wasn't. (she's fully vaccinated and so are most of her co-workers).
She tells me that the only one of her own three kids excited about returning to physical school is her youngest, who's totally devoted to soccer and wants to play again. The two older ones, both bookish girls, have adapted to virtual classes - and talking with their friends on various platforms - so well they're indifferent to doing the whole long public transit commute thing.
I think we should accept that for the younger generation, COVID has completely reshaped their lives, and in some ways for the better. Online socialization and learning is DEFINITELY better for disabled people, I see so many people pleading that we don't return to a world where people have to be physically present in a place with no accommodations to experience concerts, conventions, classes, etc.
greenjar_01
(6,477 posts)I've seen a lot of this discourse that seems to judge people for wanting to return to "normal." I get that we've seen the importance of accommodations, but some people are really struggling with isolation also, and we shouldn't reshape our lives around preference for remote either.