CHICAGO (WLS) Teachers unwilling to teach from inside their classrooms are expected to teach virtually from outside the building once again Tuesday, according to the Chicago Teacher’s Union.
Chicago Public School officials have threatened to dock pay for teachers who are unwilling to return to in-person teaching.
According to the district, roughly 140 teachers has unexcused absences on Monday.
On Monday, young children lined up for temperature checks at Dawes Elementary Monday morning as roughly 6,000 Pre K and special needs Chicago Public School students returned to the classroom for in person learning.
Layla Scott, 6, was one of the special needs students who was dropped off at Thorp Elementary, where she is enrolled in the cluster program. Scott, who is autistic, has struggled with remote learning since March, according to Ebonie Davis, Scott’s mother.
Some teachers at Brentano Math & Science Academy bundled up and set up tables and computers outside so they could still teach virtually.
Washington joined other teachers on a Zoom call Tuesday morning after they said the district threatened to dock pay for staff if they do not show up to class. No one is saying that we do not want to go back into the buildings, Washington said. The mayor and her Board of Education are trying to paint a picture that teachers do not want to go to work. We are working. We are working harder now than ever before.
We need to build this path forward, and we started with that today, Mayor Lightfoot said. This model sets us up to see rolling closures, as many other schools have experienced, which does not benefit the struggling parents. This model is not sustainable for kids, said Evan Gillum, a teacher and CTU member.
CTU has also questioned why more teachers than appear needed are being told to report back to work. At Davis, the staff was present while students were not. Is the goal to support kids who need the support and aren t doing well with remote learning or is the goal to march every person back into the buildings because that s what they want? asked Chris Geovanis, CTU member.