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CHICAGO (WLS) Thousands of 6th through 8th grade Chicago Public school students returned to the classroom Monday. This comes after kindergarten through 5th graders returned to in-person learning last Monday morning, and now CPS has its sights on getting high schoolers back, too. CPS CEO Janice Jackson, along with teachers and staff, welcomed some students back to Richardson Middle School on Chicago s Southwest Side. WATCH | CPS CEO welcomes middle school students back to classroom Chicago Public Schools CEO Dr. Janice K. Jackson, Chief Education Officer LaTanya D. McDade greet returning students All elementary grade students that want an option for in-person instruction have an option for in-person instruction, which is good, Jackson said. ....
CHICAGO (WLS) While some Chicago Public Schools elementary students were able to return to in-person learning this week, high school students and parents wonder if and when they ll be able to do the same. Nikolaj and Jovana Todorovski, both CPS high school students, are anxious to get out of the house and back into a real classroom after almost a year at the dining room table. It s not, like, the structure you have being physically in the building and you lose your motivation to do homework, sometimes participate in class, even turning on your camera is a big deal, Nikolaj said. ....
She said she has every confidence the district has prioritized safety for all. They did a great job. I feel 100% safe that my son is returning to school, she said. For Joseph Williams, that s not the case. We still don t feel that is it safe enough just yet to send our children back to school, he said. The father of five CPS students, ranging from kindergarten to high school, has opted to keep them all at home, wishing the return to school plan was staggered out grade by grade. I really felt that phases should have went maybe by grade levels, he said. Grade level by grade level, where you have opportunity to vaccinate teachers per grade level and take it as a slow process to working in. ....
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. ....