Chicago Public Schools students to return to classrooms Wednesday after CTU suspends work action

[greenjar_01]

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

The Chicago Teachers Union’s governing body has voted to suspend its labor action and return to in-person work Tuesday, ending a bitter dispute with Chicago Public Schools and setting up students to return to classrooms Wednesday for the first time in a week.

“Today’s negotiations were productive,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement ahead of the vote. “We are waiting to hear back from the CTU. We will update parents, students and members of the public as soon as we are able.”

The union’s 700-member house of delegates convened to discuss the school district’s offer, which appeared to make very few compromises. The union’s delegates voted 389 to 226 in favor of suspending the work action and returning Tuesday. The CTU’s 25,000 members are expected to vote later in the week on whether to approve the potential agreement.

Earlier Monday, Lightfoot and CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said in separate interviews with local and national news outlets that they felt “cautiously optimistic” they could land a deal.

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Read more: https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2022/1/10/22877240/ctu-teachers-union-delegates-cps-public-schools-proposal-contract-in-person-schooling

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CTU folds.

[former9thward]

1. Biden wanted the schools open.

Asked about the Chicago schools stalemate at a briefing Monday, President Joe Biden’s press secretary, Jen Psaki, said the White House is in regular touch with the mayor and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker over the situation.

“We have been very clear. … We want to see schools open,” Psaki said.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-chicago-public-schools-canceled-monday-20220110-d6vdvra3jfcxxmid55jran6mlq-story.html

[mucifer]

2. This was just horrific for the kids and the parents.

[greenjar_01]

3. Yes

I have two kids in CPS.

[mia]

5. Hard for kids and parents, but my heart goes out to public school teachers everywhere..

I was one of them for most of my life. I can imagine how they are feeling. If I were still working, I would be preparing my will and end of life directives.

[BigmanPigman]

4. IS IT SAFE???

Is it safe? Is it safe? Is it safe?

I sound like Dustin Hoffman in The Marathon Man but...is it safe?

As a former teacher in 1st grade in one of the top 10 largest school districts in the US I know that the teachers' and students' health and safety come AFTER the school districts' financial situation and the parents who want free babysitting services and food programs. School districts get money from the state for each student per day, that is why there are "learning contracts" for kids who miss school for over 5 days. The district receives the $$$ per kid from the state, nothing more. I wrote up a zillion learning contracts, I know what their priorities are. I also was a union rep at my school site and I know that teachers want what is best for the kids and often put their own health and safety last. Teachers want kids to succeed but we don't want to risk our health doing so.

[AZLD4Candidate]

7. No one cares if it's safe. Remember, it's all about the parents.

They need their free, tax supported babysitters in Chicago. And I'm a teacher saying that.

[BigmanPigman]

10. We teachers know the real story.

A lot of people don't. We must never stop educating the public and standing up for teachers. If I weren't a teacher, I wouldn't have a clue.

[Gilbert Moore]

6. Hmmmm

Don't know if I would want to start a work action that could lead to a lock out that could possibly affect my health insurance.

[AZLD4Candidate]

8. That's all the more reason for M4A

[Gilbert Moore]

14. M4A ?

Ahhhhh Medicare for all

Thanks

[AZLD4Candidate]

9. When I hear things I this, I remember this sign at a School Board Meeting

[ancianita]

34. Do you recall when that was?

From my years as a Chicago teacher, I recall the tensions between the business community as shown by its board members.

Signage like that looks astroturfy, and I've seen it used by business and corporate interests to fight the CTU.
Signage like that gets passed out whenever there's a chance at a board meeting for corporate media to write up something that stigmatizes teachers as part of the general public school "problem." The demand for "choice," the nationwide chant against public schools, gets presented to parents as their main argument, and they show up with this managed perception that they don't have any choices, as if they are being shortchanged by a "system" of deep state professionals.

CTU has been besieged by former corporate boards of education and their general superintendents during the 35 years I worked in city high schools. And Arnie Duncan was one of them, Democrat or not. He's running for mayor, so don't be surprised if this is right up his alley to come in and "promise choice" for Chicago parents.

[AZLD4Candidate]

37. September some time. Photo is from the Salt Lake Tribune

[ancianita]

39. Thank you. It was a good reminder of my Chicago time. Parents mean well, but they must learn

that teaching professionals are parents, too, trustworthy scholars of their communities with a great deal of expertise in administering schools (they know education history, school law, funding, budgeting, negotiating) not just about their commitment to being in classrooms to fire up curiosity and use structured, sequential thinking, writing and speaking to help kids learn about themselves, each other, moving outward to the neighborhood, state, nation and world.

[Orrex]

11. Somewhere, somebody has crunched the numbers and determined that X dead kids is acceptable

[Yandex]

13. Are there any stats on how many kids have died from going to school

since January 2020?

[Orrex]

16. I'll check. What's an acceptable number for you?

And how much collateral damage, in terms of sickened family members, etc., is acceptable?

[Yandex]

18. I would look for stats in comparison to other causes of death for children

What number is acceptable to you?

[Orrex]

19. Frankly, zero.

And that number could have been achieved--at least close to it in school-originated cases--by a serious lockdown with actual mandates, instead of the catastrophically balkanized "do what thou wilt" policies that we've seen varying in every city, county, and state.

For that matter, deaths shouldn't even be the litmus test, nor should we compare such deaths to other historical causes of fatality. This is a new pandemic that a failed president did nothing to rein in, while a good president's efforts are being hobbled by agenda-driven KKKonservative judges.


And on top of that, the endless cries of "we must reopen the schools because of reasons" has drowned out any real expectation of safe practice.

[Yandex]

20. No way

The isolation for some kids was catastrophic. child suicides and mental health problems went way up

[Orrex]

23. Oh? I look forward to reviewing the data that you provide.

Last edited Wed Jan 12, 2022, 03:08 PM - Edit history (1)

And "I would look for stats in comparison to other causes of [ mental health issues ] for children."

Your claim--if true--also seems to overlook the very real strain on teachers, who are quitting in droves:

https://wpst.com/why-are-pennsylvania-teachers-quitting-at-such-an-alarming-rate/
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/04/teachers-quitting-jobs-covid-record-numbers
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/teachers-quitting-covid
https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2021/10/18/teachers-resign-pandemic/ (paywall)
https://www.kwch.com/2021/12/07/pandemic-related-stress-causing-educators-walk-away/
https://www.starnewsonline.com/story/news/2021/11/08/new-hanover-county-teachers-quitting-due-covid-19-burnout/6051795001/

And it equally ignores the very real possibility of contagion between kids forcibly exposed to covid at school and vulnerable family members.


But sure. Let's jam kids into overcrowded school rooms with sick teachers and/or poorly qualified substitutes, where masks are optional, social distancing is not enforced, and vaccines are not mandated. What the fuck could possibly go wrong?

[Yandex]

25. How much do you need? Tell me when you've had enough

https://kfor.com/news/local/oklahoma-psychiatrist-warns-of-uptick-in-children-suicide-attempts-during-the-continued-covid-19-pandemic/

https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/teen-suicides-on-the-rise-mental-health-crisis-in-our-schools-experts-say/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/12/08/pre-teen-suicide-numbers-up-especially-younger-black-children/8832205002/?gnt-cfr=1

https://www.indiawest.com/blogs/the-shadow-pandemic-teen-suicides-and-depression-rates-spike-with-few-resources-for-help/article_75e8bd1e-6c02-11ec-bba1-074216276f28.html

[Orrex]

35. Doesn't appear that any of those identifies remote learning as the cause

The three that I am able to view--without subscription--assert a correlation between the pandemic and increased suicide rates, but scant evidence of causation is offered. In fact, one article blames social media; perhaps we should ban children from the internet in your view? And that same article cites percentages but doesn't give actual numbers: attempted suicide rose 51% in girls? Does that mean that last year 20 girls tried and this year 31 tried? Is that nationwide? Statewide? In one county? In one school? The numbers are essential.

You are assuming your conclusion and ignoring other likely factors. How is teen depression affected by the covid-related death of one or more friends or family members? How is teen depression affected by forcible relocation following the loss of the parents' income and subsequent inability to pay rent? How is teen depression affected by the massive reduction/alteration in communal activities such as concerts, sporting events and the like?

For that matter, maybe kids are stressed out by the realization that ~30% of the population is so ignorant and stubborn that they'll happily risk others' lives simply to preserve their own "freedom" not to endure a cloth square on their face? That last factor is, incidentally, a key reason why my older son has refused to go back to in-person learning, the knowledge that people are assholes and that they'll undeniably subvert whatever tepid "mask mandate" the schools try to impose.

[Yandex]

36. lol nice try n/t

[Orrex]

38. That's the sound of you admitting that you can't support your own argument.

[Yandex]

40. Nope, again, nice try. n/t

[ancianita]

24. Lol, look for stats from causes of death that are "infectious" and can spread to the public, right?

By the way, I'm curious. Why is your name Yandex?

Yandex is the name of the leading Russian search engine, which includes satellite map apps, and info similar to Google, but you didn't name yourself Google.

But seriously, how did you decide on your name?

[Yandex]

26. I like how it sounds

And yours?

[ancianita]

28. Oh. Okay.

Last edited Sat Jan 15, 2022, 11:06 PM - Edit history (2)

Mine? Look it up in Google Translate.

You might be interested in your random name choice. Especially since it's a Russian one. You can find it here.

Yandex N.V. (/ˈjʌndɛks/; Russian: Яндекс ) is a multinational corporation primarily for Russian and Russian-language users,[5] providing 70 Internet-related products and services, including transportation, search and information services, e-commerce, navigation, mobile applications, and online advertising.[6][3][clarification needed]

The firm is registered in Schiphol, the Netherlands as a naamloze vennootschap (Dutch public limited company),[7] but the company founders and most of the team members are located in Russia. It primarily serves audiences in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, and also has 30 offices worldwide.[8][9]

The firm is the largest technology company in Russia[10] and the second largest search engine on the Internet in Russian, with a market share of over 42%.[11] It also has the largest market share of any search engine from Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States and is the 5th largest search engine worldwide after Google, Baidu, Bing, and Yahoo!

In September 2005, it opened an office in Ukraine[21] and launched www.yandex.ua.[22] In 2007, Yandex introduced a customized search engine for Ukrainian users;[23] Yandex also opened its development center in Kyiv in May 2007. In 2008, Yandex extended its presence in Ukraine by increasing bandwidth between Moscow data centers and UA-IX in Ukraine fivefold.[24] In 2009, all services of www.yandex.ua were localized for the Ukrainian market.[25] In 2010, Yandex launched its "Poltava" search engine algorithm for Ukrainian users, based on its MatrixNet technology.[26]

On June 20, 2008, it announced the formation of Yandex Labs in Silicon Valley, with an objective to foster "innovation in search and advertising technology".[13]

On April 20, 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia, Yandex announced that it would make its home coronavirus testing service free of charge for all residents of Moscow and its surroundings, and will be available to other regions in the future. Previously, it announced the launch of the service on April 16.[83]

Welcome to DU. Enjoy your stay.

[Yandex]

31. Nice find n/t

[Yandex]

27. Anything else? n/t

[ancianita]

29. Whattaya got?

[Yandex]

30. IDK You? n/t

[ancianita]

32. IDK, You?? n/t

[Yandex]

33. 😉

[PBC_Democrat]

12. The Teacher's Union Lost Me ...

when they called the Mayor relentlessly stupid

So much for negotiating in good faith.

[The Magistrate]

15. It's An Accurate Description, Sir

Lightfoot has been a disastrously bad mayor.

[Yandex]

21. Yes, that, and they speak from experience. n/t

[Mrsfiddlegirl]

17. Lightfoot has COVID-19

And right on cue....Lightfoot announces today that she has COVID-19 and is working from home, an option teachers don't have now at CPS. This debacle highlights the terrible leadership at Chicago Teachers Union who folded without even allowing the full membership vote until after students return Wednesday. I adored teaching for 43 years, including at CPS, but I wouldn't remotely consider it as a career if I was a young person today. Sad.

[Yandex]

22. Whaaaaat?! Chicago teachers must teach when they have the disease? n/t