Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Students in one-third of Chicago Public Schools K-8 classrooms returned to in-person learning over the past month with one key element missing a teacher.
And that learning condition sitting in a classroom while an educator teaches remotely was more frequent in majority Black and majority Latino schools than in majority white schools.
Those were among the findings of a survey of school leaders conducted by the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association and released this week. Administrators at 195 of CPS’ 415 elementary schools responded, said CPAA President Troy LaRaviere, who pointed to the racial disparity as evidence the district’s reopening plan is hurting even those students of color who resumed in-person learning.
Chicago teachers struggle at a crossroads
The drive to reopen Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the third largest school district in the country, has become a pitched battle between educators and the state apparatus, the latter backed up by the corporate media and the unions. The fight by Chicago educators to prevent the reopening of schools is the focal point of the class struggle in the United States, with every other major district in the country looking to Chicago to set a precedent.
In this context, it is of the utmost importance for teachers and other educators to organize independently of the unions and join the Chicago Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee, as well as attend this Saturday’s national meeting of the Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee, which will bring together the network of committees that have formed across the country, as well as committee members in the UK and Germany.
Chicago Public Schools should allow students back into classrooms in no more than 100 facilities and then gradually reopen others, an organization of school principals proposed Wednesday, saying most of them doubt the nation’s third-largest school district can safely handle a mass reopening.
Gorilla recovery, hydroxychloroquine return, prison problems: News from around our 50 states From USA TODAY Network and wire reports, USA TODAY
Alabama
Montgomery: Officials said Tuesday that the state will see a slight increase, about 16%, in COVID-19 vaccine doses coming in federal shipments, but the ongoing shortage remains the chief obstacle to getting more people inoculated. President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that the U.S. is boosting deliveries to hard-pressed states over the next three weeks to increase vaccinations. “I’m pleased that Alabama will receive a slight increase in our vaccine supply. Any margin of increase is appreciated, but we have a long way to go to be able to provide them to any Alabamian who wants one,” Gov. Kay Ivey said Tuesday. State Health Officer Scott Harris said Alabama will receive an additional 10,000 first doses in its upcoming delivery. The state had been receiving about 50,000 to 60,000 first doses each week but will s