Sharkey said the union is calling for very reasonable demands in negotiations. We re making demands that deal with the ability to limit capacity in high schools to safe levels. High schools cannot make pods, Sharkey said. We re dealing with demands that have to do with the Board making reasonable accommodations for members and their ability to telework in certain situations. We re making demands that have to do with. vaccinations, especially in the context of increasing transmission, and those are a fairly limited set of issues right now.
CPS spokesman Michael Passman said in a statement on Monday that the district was firmly committed to welcoming high school students back on April 19, saying, tens of thousands of high school students and their families are counting on us to open high school classrooms.
On vaccinations, CPS said 2,000 pre-k and cluster staff, as well as staff who have medically vulnerable members of their household but were not given an accommodation to continue teaching remotely, would be offered vaccinations.
The district said it also agreed to administer vaccinations to 1,500 employees per week out of the city s supply at CPS vaccination sites, and noted that staff at the city s 15 communities most impacted by COVID-19 may be eligible to be vaccinated through the city s Protect Chicago Plus initiative.
All education workers in Illinois are eligible to be vaccinated in the state s current phase of vaccinations, Phase 1B which began in January.
CPS said in January that about 20% of students opted for a return to in-person learning, with 80% continuing with remote learning for the time being. The district said that families who chose to continue remote learning will have another opportunity to return to schools before the start of the fourth quarter that begins in April.
On vaccinations, CPS said 2,000 pre-k and cluster staff, as well as staff who have medically vulnerable members of their household but were not given an accommodation to continue teaching remotely, would be offered vaccinations.
The district said it also agreed to administer vaccinations to 1,500 employees per week out of the city s supply at CPS vaccination sites, and noted that staff at the city s 15 communities most impacted by COVID-19 may be eligible to be vaccinated through the city s Protect Chicago Plus initiative.
Jackson said she formally reached out to CTU last week to begin the process of returning high school students back to the classroom and expect to meet later this week. CPS officials said a joint task force is being created with the union.
Officials also announced the opening of three new high school learning hub locations in March:
Richards Career Academy High School (60 students)
George H. Corliss High School (60 students)
William H. Wells Community Academy High School (50 students)
According to CPS, community-based organizations will staff and manage the learning hubs. Officials added that only students enrolled at the three high schools will be eligible to enroll in the hubs.
The Chicago Board of Education is set to vote Wednesday on a new policy that would allow Chicago Public Schools to require employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine.