JCPS middle, high school students return to classroom after year of virtual learning Share Updated: 7:15 PM EDT Apr 5, 2021 Share Updated: 7:15 PM EDT Apr 5, 2021
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Show Transcript AND STAFF ABOUT WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE BACK. ALL OF THE MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS SAY THEY WERE EXCITED TO BE BACK IN THE CLASSROOM, BUT NO ONE WAS MORE EXCITED THAN SENIORS THEIR FOCUS NOW MAKING THE MOST OF THESE LAST 16 IN-PERSON DAYS. THEY HAVE LEFT FOR MORE THAN A YEAR THE HALLWAYS AT WAGNER HIGH SCHOOL SAT SILENT, BUT AS OF MONDAY MORNING, THEY WERE ONCE AGAIN BUSTLING WITH STUDENTS ENERGY JUST IMMEDIATELY ROSE AT THE FIRST BUS WAS UNLOADING IN THE FIRST CAR RIDERS DRIVERS WALKERS WERE COMING IN THE FRONT. THE STAFF HAS BEEN PREPARING FOR THIS DAY SINCE OCTOBER THE GYM HAS BEEN CONVERTED INTO A LUNCH ROOM TO FOR MORE SOCIAL DISTANCING DESKS IN THE CLASSROOMS HAVE BEEN SPACED OUT AND MASKS ARE REQUIRED AT ALL TIMES. THE CHANGES ARE A BIT OF AN AD
Under the plan, students, teachers and staff will have a staggered return to their physical classrooms.
Pre-K and cluster students will return Thursday. Kindergarten through fifth grade returns on March 1 and sixth through eighth grade goes back on March 8.
So far, no date has been set for high school students to return.
Ebonie Davis and Tequila Singleton have children in CPS cluster programs. They say in-person learning is crucial to their kids development. She has goals and benchmarks that she needs to attain, Davis said. He would have more of a hands-on type of learning environment, Singleton said.
For families that didn t opt in for in-person learning, there will be another opportunity to opt in before the fourth quarter starts in April.
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.
Some teachers at Brentano Math & Science Academy bundled up and set up tables and computers outside so they could still teach virtually.
It s been a long time coming, but it s finally here. Roughly 6,000 CPS students will return to in-person learning for the first time since March. Those returning are Pre-K and special needs students whose parents were willing to send their children back into school buildings. I feel like she s regressing because she s not getting the therapies she needs, said CPS parent Ebonie Davis.
Davis is the mother of identical twins Leah and Layla Scott. The girls are in the 1st grade at South Shore s Thorpe Elementary, but Layla is autistic. When offered the choice to send them back, Davis said she split her decision.