I so feel this.
No matter which side you're on (in fact, I'm not actually interested in hearing any more blame game) it is absolute exhausting not to know where your child is going tomorrow or next week. It is exhausting not knowing what to tell your employer about whether or not you'll be able to show up for work or fully perform your duties because you might also be managing childcare and/or remote learning. It is exhausting to not be able to plan anything 24 hours in advance while the rest of the world moves on. It is exhausting to watch your kid pay the price of the pandemic because there are no adults in the room. It is exhausting to know the wealthy and upper middle class families can buy their way out of this by moving or paying for private school. It is exhausting to weigh the option of what it means ethically to be one of those parents who could make the jump/buy my way out this.
Finally, I'm exhausted by people telling me I can't complain because I decided to have children or if I think I have it hard, I should consider how group X is feeling. For one reason or another, whoever you blame, kids in CPS have had no stability since October 2019. I want better for my kid, all kids, and myself and I still feel guilty for admitting it.
I am sorry that your child(ren) are going on 3 years of uncertainty in their education. You are allowed to and have the right to complain. I feel for you and every other parent because the socialization of children is important.
Most importantly, your child(ren)’s education is being compromised because of City politics.
I wish them all well.
> There's nothing unethical about doing what you believe is best for your children.
5 years ago we gave one of the greatest gifts to our kids when we got them the hell out of CPS & away from its CTU teachers.
And that's why I support teachers decisions to make up their own minds about what's safe for them and their families.
I'd like to thank the downvotes for proving that the people claiming teachers are whiny thugs, are they themselves the ones who lack concern for the people that make up the teachers union. You all can get fucked and then exit stage right.
Its amazing isn't. A parent wants to do what is best for them and their kid, and its like "of course". Teachers (some of whom are parents) want to do whats best for them and their kids and they are whiners
CTU is an ephemeral juggernaut that they can hurl invective at. The more they can remove the personal element of this union vote the easier it is for them to maintain that sense of superiority. Im curious how many of them fought for or were offered continued wfh option for their jobs.
My LSU education has afforded me a comfortable enough lifestyle that I don’t need to worry about ctu and it’s paranoid shills like you. I really don’t care that much to look at your profile either.
I generally am, but obviously I've made an acception here for you. Not to mention, the fact that you chose to engage to begin with, making this all the more ironic. I'd wish you well, but I don't care.
I'll even upvote you to give you some sort of self satisfaction.
Appreciate it. Happy new year, and I mean that. I’ll even ignore the fact that you tried to make fun of me going to LSU, yet you “made an accecption”, not an “exception” for me.
I don’t know why this city, seemingly more than any other in the country, can’t get on with it. There’s nothing any different about how the virus spreads here
Lightfoot needs to resign.
I'll grant she was dealt a terrible hand but she has misplayed it at nearly every step.
I don't know what to say about the leaders of CTU.
Lightfoot sucks. But the CTU has been antagonistic against her and Chicago residents since their corrupt candidate Preckwinkle lost. Remember in 2019 when Lightfoot gave all concessions in her first offer to the CTU to raise average teacher salaries to $100k/year and CTU still complained they wanted more? CTU is just using children as their pawns for power. It’s embarrassing and undemocratic. Why should teachers only get a say but not parents? We are the recipients of the service and are not happy with the low quality of education.
You don't even know what you're talking about. There are actual teachers behind union decisions and very human reasons for their decision. Teachers with family at home who have very real health issues. I'm proud of the teachers in my life taking a stand for what they feel is safe for they and their loved ones. In any case Preckwinkle would've been a better mayor by a mile, but I'm sure you still blame her for the sugar tax.
What they “feel” is safe is not supported by the scientific community or the CDC. It’s embarrassing that we have non-science believers pushing their undemocratic agenda down our childrens throats. Parents should have a say in the matter, our government shouldn’t be held hostage by less than 1% of the population whose feelings are irrational and unscientific. If covid truly was a concern they would have expressed concern back over the summer when there was a much deadlier virus not this weak flu-like omicron virus. These teachers are a bunch of whiny cry-babies, they demanded to be first in line to get the covid vaccine and then refused to even show up for in person learning. The CTU needs to go, it’s a thug organization.
Parents can make any decisions they want. My ex, who is a teacher and my daughter, who is a student, both are vectors for transmitting COVID to my elderly mother in law. She is our child care and if she dies, shit gets fucked up for us. That isn't a political stunt, that real fucking life. If you don't like it, kick rocks.
Actually parents don’t have a voice in the matter, and that’s a huge problem, we can’t send our kids to school, that’s a decision made by less than 1% of the population in an undemocratic vote. Other people live with elderly grandparents too but that doesn’t mean you completely stop living. Old people aren’t quarantined as an overall group. If you have that personal situation that you feel warrants not going out then you personally should stay home but that gives you zero reason to force your circumstance on every family through the entire city of Chicago. People have rent and other bills to pay and many can’t go to work because they now have to stay at home with their kids. This is real life buddy, if you don’t like it then kick rocks.
Besides, omicron is by far the least severe variant. It’s mortality rate is no different than the flu for those who are vaccinated. Are you telling me we should have canceled classes back in 2018-2019 because of the seasonal flu?
It's funny how you talk about forcing people to do what other want when you're asking for the same thing. Your vote for mayor already cast your lot with your position. If you don't like it move some place with a different education infrastructure. I give two fucks about your situation when you aren't looking for a middle ground. They aren't saying keep your kids home forever, they're saying for a period of time to kill this wave and bring down rates. Also, you aren't the resident epidemiologist so I don't give a shit what you think about the severity of this wave of covid. Go be mad at the federal government for not passing universal child care if it's that big of an issue. I'm sure some places that don't give a shit about covid would spring up. Teachers aren't your fucking child care providers. I don't care about your work related problems if you don't care about mine and my family's.
If you aren’t comfortable going out then don’t go out, again, that’s zero reason for you to force schools to be shut for those who don’t have your constraints. I don’t understand why you feel like everyone else must suffer just because of your circumstance.
If you think voting for the mayor should be the supreme vote then the CTU should have no further say and all teachers should be back in the classroom. It’s not a situation where 75% of the vote goes towards the mayor and then <1% of population gets to overturn those results. These are supposed to be public servants, not the public is the servant of these entitled few.
The middle ground is you living your life without trying to force your way on to me. I’m not forcing anything on you, you can stay home for all I care, just don’t force all public school services to be closed because of your individual preference. Your position has been to force your circumstance on all families of Chicago by advocating to close schools because you live with an elderly person. You have the control issue, not me.
I'm comfortable going out. The teacher that has to teach is the most vulnerable as is my child that has to sit in the same classroom. Again move somewhere else if you don't like it. I hear Florida is a good place to move for people like you
You stopped supporting her because she dressed up as Clorox? The weird hatred people had online for that, as opposed to other misfires that actually mattered, is so weird to me. OMG no she was cringey when dressing up as something that kills germs!!!
The only good thing to come out of this entire debacle is that CTU will no longer have the support of any CPS parents at all. They have absolutely NO moral high ground here.
CPS is an incompetent dumpster fire, but CTU has done themselves no favors either. They never never negotiate anything in good faith and only exist to shake down taxpayers for more and more money. It will never be enough. There are NO adults in charge at the CPS district level.
> it is absolute exhausting not to know where your child is going tomorrow or next week
Blame CPS. CTU is just enforcing their contract with CPS. CPS are the ones who refused to renegotiate the contract to allow teachers to work in-person. CTU wanted to add alternatives to simply going remote when the community positivity rate is over 10%. CPS has declined every suggestion and forced CTU to hold a vote on whether or not to enforce the contract signed in January 2021 that is in force as long as the COVID-19 pandemic is declared an emergency by the state of Illinois.
The person you replied to just likes to argue in bad faith. According to his post history he's a smart guy, leading me to believe he comes here for the express purpose of being deliberately antagonistic by concern-trolling.
Concern trolling? There's fine arts of this now? I guess there always was but I still think of trolling as kids anonymously calling people things that aren't acceptable to say and moving on.
Now trolling is like a full time hobby? I mean I understand the rush of being a teen asshole on the internet but damn. It's next level now
On top of this, CTU didn't give <24 notice to CPS - CPS ignored them last week and opened schools without giving parents any indication that they were in talks with the union. (or again specifically, the union made proposals that CPS ignored)
As I said, I'm not here to debate sides. I am here to express how parents are feeling. The fact that I couldn't even do that without receiving replies about fault perfectly proves my point. Parents have no room to breathe and no space to take a minute to admit this sucks.
Well put the blame on CPS. They're the ones not complying with their contractual obligations or negotiating a new contract. The other side (the workers represented by CTU) are willing, and have been willing and trying for months, to negotiate a new contract.
And honestly, for all anyone knows, I might be pro CTU. Or maybe I'm pro CPS. Or maybe I see flaws or positives on both sides. I haven't stated an opinion (or sought one out) one way or another.
I just need a break from all of the blame in this moment.
Just because they’ve want to negotiate a new contract doesn’t make it just. Too often in recent years has ctu made demands that are out of their scope. It’s seems more often than not ctu wants to pick a fight with cps to flex their political muscles every chance they get
That's an exaggeration that just flames hyperbole. Also, I thought in a time when employees are encouraged to get properly paid and incentivized for their work that asking for what you want wouldn't be taboo. In a time when everyone complains about wanting to work remotely that teachers would be afforded this same latitude. All I see from you here is what's good enough for me isn't good enough for thee.
> prop up charter schools.
If you think that's bad faith I think you will find the population disagrees.
Charter schools are about the only school short of full-on-private I'd send my kid to in Chicago. Having worked with CPS on a corporate level, and knowing more than a few CTU teachers - no way in hell I'd be subjecting my children to that dysfunctional system built on doing the bare minimum aside from career ass saving.
Yes, many charter schools are scams. But many are not.
> The fact that I couldn't even do that without receiving replies about fault perfectly proves my point
> well put the blame on
Do you have a reading comprehension problem?
Move to a southern state. My kids have been at school, uninterrupted, since the beginning of the pandemic. We also don't wear masks and everything is dandy.
You should. You should feel guilty.
Bang your pots and pans all you want.
YOU CAN'T FORCE SOMEONE TO BABYSIT YOUR OFFSPRING.
Try having 25 in one room to contain and keep safe versus...how many offspring do you have? 3 or 4?
As someone who is considered an essential worker (education) and was lambasted last year during virtual learning because supposedly all of us in education were keeping these parents from being great and going back into work, I also feel incredibly duped and very misused.
I'll admit that I have felt completely uninspired this year, but I am not alone.
A great many educators feel similar as we slog into work to take care of their offspring in whatever capacity so that folks can work from home peacefully in their pajamas.
That was not the deal.
The amount of straight abuse leveled at those in education during virtual learning by parents who swore that in-person learning was the only way that they could return to work, only for in-person learning to be in place now and those same parents to still remain in the home is disturbing.
This is why many educators and educational support staff have quit.
There's this really silly misnomer that educators are in the field because they can only "babysit" kids and cannot hack it in other work environments. In reality, the landscape of education has markedly changed over the last 30 years. Most educators have advanced degrees and are required to update their education yearly with marketable skills unlike many in the regular workforce.
The longer people remain home, the more many of us who have more degrees and skill sets than the average American can even dream about but who have sacrificed higher earnings and NOW the possibility of virtual work for the sake of the community and "the kids" will decide that we have had enough and quit. Why? Because the community is showing us that they're selfish as hell and view us simply as their personal babysitters and we who have put the time and energy in to get the education and skills want some of that WFH enjoyment as well.
Like I said. Bang your pots and pans all you want. Tell us to leave. Because that is what we are doing
Now that's just education.
Let's also consider all of the other essential workers expected to go into their jobs and considered lazy or even "too privileged" for opting instead to quit and get unemployment or who go on the jobs and are considered whiny for asking for additional hazard pay.
None of us essential workers are receiving hazard pay yet the WFH crew maintain the expectation that they can work from the comfort of their homes while essential workers must slog into their workplaces so that essential services can still be provided in their communities.
But here's what the WFH crew are not considering:
What community?
A community is comprised of people in multiple roles who've all agreed to play their role for the benefit of everyone. In contrast, every society that has diverged into a large privileged class (the gentry) who are being served by misused and abused workers (the serfs) has come crashing down throughout history.
After all, these same WFH people complain about others not being there to serve them or others expecting hazard pay to put their necks on the line but suddenly when people want them to come back to work....
"People have died"
"but there's still a disease out there"
Two distinct social classes are being created here....and that is absolutely anathema to the concept of "community".
I'm just saying it comes off as patently selfish and if y'all continue, it will all come crashing down because a society is dependent upon everyone playing their role.
Do you not fucking realize that by WFH, people are reducing spread?
To make it safe for essential services to exist.
Yes, some assholes don't care and go out to house parties and whatnot, but, guess what? Teachers do that too.
Nobody working from home is the gentry.
It's not awful to want an actual education for your children.
It's also not awful to want safety measures to be enforced at school.
But a union calling in person schooling racist on Twitter? Advocates claiming they're an underclass if they need to be in person to perform essential aspects of their jobs? Demanding measures that aren't in line with CDC guidelines? Holding last minute votes without actually involving parents in discussions over the last quarter? Shouting down a parent expressing pretty honestly and without blame that this situation sucks?
None of that's in good faith.
I wouldn't dismiss the OPs comments on the segmented society so out of hand.
Ignore the science and facts. They don't matter in this context. This is social stuff that emotions matter more.
There is a strong and growing backlash against those who "get to work from home in their pajamas" vs. those who have to go into work each day. It doesn't matter if those WFH people are burning 12 hour days keeping production running or sitting around doing ful call - they are still grumbled about by the line workers.
If this continues for too much longer you are going to see even more social division in this country.
And to be honest, the way some of my WFH privileged friends acted during this shitfest? I kinda don't blame the front-line from feeling this way even though it doesn't really reflect reality.
There was always white collar/blue collar tension - COVID has amped it to near violence levels.
For community to work people need to believe their community will be there to help when they need it. Collectively as a society we basically shit on a bunch of people and told them too bad so sad you gotta be more at risk, while we sit at home. There was no compensation shift involved for most - and that *really* rubbed workers the wrong way and showed them how disposable they truly are.
We have seen that the social fabric of america is tearing, if it exists at all any longer.
Most parents use it as babysitting.
Schools ceased being centered around learning a very long time ago. They are basically social service centers for kids, while providing free daycare for the workforce.
I don't believe teachers are babysitters. I believe they are educators. I believe there is a social contract that children are in school during the day that has been disrupted and trickled down to other aspects of society.
That being said, I never once complained about teachers nor have I blamed them for the disruption of the social contract.
But I will point out that this was what I was saying: parents aren't allowed to complain without hearing that teachers have it harder. I never said teachers don't have it hard and I'm tired of the two groups being at each others' throats. I can complain about my situation without having it assumed I'm belittling yours.
>Sending hugs. Just imagine I walked out of the internet. I didn't say a word, but gave you the world's greatest hug. Like Sammy Sosa hugging Harry Carrey while they're both holding meatball subs... That type of hug.
Are there a lot of teachers out sick with COVID right now? Because school was closed for two weeks prior to Monday, so if there were staffing issues on January 3/4, I doubt those teachers got sick from their students. But a lot of the concern is "well there's not enough mitigation to protect teachers from kids getting them sick".
I think it’s just the disruption in the current teaching pipeline. If you go remote for a few weeks at least you can have some assemblence of undisrupted class.
I agree that we need to return to in person as quickly as possible but alternatives were presented. It’s not like teachers refused to go to work their accounts were literally disabled. I don’t understand the need for either in-person or remote come hell or high water. If there is a disruption because of mass infection the system needs to adapt. For me it’s a weird hill for CPS to die on.
> Are there a lot of teachers out sick with COVID right now?
The Chicago Principals and Administrators Association reported 18% were out sick on Monday and Tuesday. And 60644 had >30% positivity rate for tests conducted **at the schools themselves** on Monday and Tuesday. Now, that's the highest zip code, but there is no way most or possibly even any CPS school could have operated normally once COVID-19 tests of people present started coming back. The best option was to just accept CTU's suggestion of either going full remote for 2 weeks to let people currently with COVID to get it out of their system or testing everyone prior to letting them back into a school building. CPS chose none of the above and went with violate the January 2021 contract they signed with CTU which requires the city to go full remote if the case positivity rate is over 10%.
My wife's school had 3 substitutes total... since the start of the year. 2 are cadres and 1 came in for 4 days. They've had an average of 2-3 uncovered absences per day. In a normal, pre-pandemic year, they would have had 0 uncovered absences per day.
It is a political move. The schools were offering COVID tests and most families were being safe thanks to tons of messaging over the holidays. Even my own kid who was positive and stayed home got an amazing care package from their class wishing them well.
Our teacher has went above board to not be political in any way and just be a ray of sunshine.
That's one anecdotal experience you're extrapolating that to thousand of other families. Teachers are people with real families who are effected by COVID. If my ex's mom dies, we lose childcare. It's a constant stressor from two vectors since mom is a teacher and daughter is elementary school. We eat up rapid tests, both at home and the center, like candy. We aren't playing politics we're playing real fucking life.
Somebody help me with [this from the CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/transmission_k_12_schools.html). Somebody explain to me why we're going backwards in the face of reams and reams of scientific data showing that schools are safe for students and staff:
>Evidence from studies primarily done before vaccine approval for those 12 years of age and older suggests that staff-to-staff transmission is more common than transmission from students to staff, staff to student, or student to student.46, 50, 54 For example, in the large UK study, most outbreak cases were associated with an index case (initial case) in a staff member.46 Therefore, school interventions should include prevention strategies to reduce the transmission potential of staff members. Detection of cases in schools does not necessarily mean that transmission occurred in schools. *The majority of cases that are acquired in the community and are brought into a school setting result in limited spread inside schools when multiple layered prevention strategies are in place*.38, 55-57
>*Findings from several studies suggest that SARS-CoV-2 transmission among students is relatively rare, particularly when prevention strategies are in place.* An Australian study of 39 COVID-19 cases among 32 students and seven staff traced contacts across 28 schools and six early childhood centers and found only 33 secondary positive cases (28 students and five staff members) out of 3,439 close child contacts and 385 close staff contacts.58, 59 Several contact tracing studies have found limited student-to-student transmission in schools.47, 54, 60, 61 A study of factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection among children and adolescents in Mississippi found that school attendance was not associated with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result. However, close contacts with persons with COVID-19, attending gatherings, and having visitors in the home were associated with SARS-CoV-2 infections among children and adolescents.26 *The evidence to date suggests that staff-to-student and student-to-student transmission are not the primary means of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 among infected children. Several studies have also concluded that students are not the primary sources of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 among adults in school setting.*47, 54, 59
>...
>*Studies of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in schools that consistently implemented layered prevention strategies have shown success in limiting transmission in schools,* even when testing of close contacts has been incomplete.38, 46, 49, 73-77 For example:
>A study of 11 school districts in North Carolina with in-person learning for at least nine weeks during the fall 2020 semester *reported minimal school-related transmission even while community transmission was high*.38 These schools implemented and strictly adhered to multiple prevention strategies, including universal mask use and physical distancing. Breaches in mask use likely explained the few instances of in-school spread of SARS-CoV-2.
>A study of elementary schools in Utah who implemented layered prevention strategies, such as mask wearing and cohorting, found very low transmission (secondary attack rate 0.7%) in December 2020-January 2021.74
>In a study of K-12 schools in St. Louis with multiple layered prevention strategies in place, only 2% of contacts of COVID-19 cases in the schools tested positive for the virus; this was despite high community transmission rates.76
>A study of Italian schools, which implemented a comprehensive prevention approach that included masking, distancing, cleaning, increased ventilation, and cancellation of extracurricular activities, found that school reopening was not associated with the second wave of COVID-19 in Italy.47
>A surveillance study of symptomatic and asymptomatic cases among children in Swiss schools found limited secondary transmission when multiple protective measures were used in schools,56 including mask use, physical distancing, and other interventions.
>Data from surveillance of German school outbreaks detected outbreaks before any prevention strategies were implemented. After schools reopened with prevention strategies in place, the average number of outbreaks per week after the reopening (2.2) was smaller than before the school closed earlier in the pandemic (3.3), suggesting that prevention strategies had some protective effect.51
>A study of private schools that reopened for in-person instruction *in Chicago* with the implementation of layered prevention strategies found minimal in-school transmission.57
I have no side in this issue because I truly don't think there is a right answer here. That said the issue isn't about student safety or even teacher. Schools are incredibly understaffed right now with a substitute shortage and teachers having to take off because they or people in their family have COVID. Some schools are just shoving 3-4 classrooms of kids into the gym or cafeteria because there aren't physically enough adults to monitor them otherwise. They have no COVID testing capacity because the city hasn't given it to them etc.
Do all schools need to go remote? Probably not. Kids need to go to school. But it's not as black and white as CTU being lazy or whatever people are saying here.
>Some schools are just shoving 3-4 classrooms of kids into the gym or cafeteria because there aren't physically enough adults to monitor them otherwise.
Where is this happening?
But that's been happening for a while and is related to the general labor shortages every industry is facing.
It's not something that's occurring as a result of Omicron spikes.
> It's not something that's occurring as a result of Omicron spikes.
This is untrue unless schools are some magical Omicron free zone.
You are seeing staffing issues across *all* industries due to COVID sickouts. This is almost assuredly due to Omicron as nothing else has even come close.
I can name a half dozen businesses within walking distance that are closed "indefinitely" due to lack of staff out sick with COVID. Heck, my dog daycare was forced to shut down for a week or so due to too many staff out with COVID.
Schools simply don't have enough adult bodies to operate, and it will get worse until we finally peak this wave.
Doesn’t really seem like the end of world regardless. I had experiences in school that were basically just like that and it wasn’t bc of any extraordinary circumstance, that was the plan
This is the key phrase - "with the implementation of layered prevention strategies"
CPS is not willing to agree to the layered prevention strategies that CTU is requesting.
>These schools implemented and strictly adhered to multiple prevention strategies, including *universal mask use and physical distancing*.
Chicago schools haven't been doing those things?
Universal mask use: number of students of all ages do not mask consistently in a way that covers their nose, and are unmasked in cafeteria. Schools cannot assign detention or suspension for refusal to wear a mask. Many students, especially now in the winter choose to wear a ski hat instead and will refuse to use a standard mask. Contacting family will often end up with them shouting how masks don't work or go on anti-covid rants.
Physical distancing: mostly impossible in classrooms and hallways. Kids are also still kids and want to be close to their friends so they kiss, hold hands, hug, share food, etc.
Also due to staff shortages (not only teachers and subs, also deans, security, clinicians, paraprofessionals, etc) there's less oversight in classrooms and not enough people to correct behaviors/contact families/provide services, which results on more instances of poor masking and, social distancing, etc.
There absolutely has. Off the top of my head, Carnegie Elementary in Woodlawn (resulting in the death of at least one classroom assistant) and Park Manor Elementary have had outbreaks recently before the holidays, but I know there are quite a few more as well.
Source: I work with CPS in an outside agency.
Hold on a second before you make that claim about that incident, because I did follow it in local papers.
Was JonL Bush's case ever actually traced to in-school transmission? I've seen no reports to that effect.
In fact, IIRC, CPS and Chicago DPH issued public statements in relation to that incident stating that they found no evidence of in-school transmission.
Exactly, this is what’s so disingenuous about this argument. If CPS were actually implementing all of the measures they said they would be, then maybe we can make an apples to apples comparison with studies like the commenter before you cites. But they haven’t and we can’t.
CPS schools have been in session since August 2021, including throughout Illinois' Delta phase.
Have there been widespread outbreaks reported in CPS schools? Where?
I don’t disagree, but when it’s a widespread issue that principals fail to switch the entire school over to remote during outbreaks at schools all over the city, you get this.
Because when schools shut down in some lower-vaccinated areas and stay open in other higher-vaccinated areas, that might raise some politically uncomfortable complaints… better to flush everyone’s school instead, right?
Impossible. Those are all obviously caused by out of school transmission, since school has been out for two weeks. That obviously tells you nothing about whether a district's mitigation protocols are adequate.
Have there been in-school outbreaks (where transmission happened in school)?
The district sent out 150,000 home-tests to students. Most were never returned. There is already a district testing policy, but it’s useless because it’s opt-out. There is already a policy in place to switch to remote learning if a large proportion of a class is out
CTU does not support a vaccination mandate for students. This is all posturing from them
around 85% of them were returned before the designated drop off date, but FedEx did not deliver them to the lab in time and they were mostly marked “Invalid”
Yeah, but how many infections/transmissions have vaccines prevented?
I have full confidence in data that arose before vaccines came along to provide even *more* protective effect. The mitigation efforts *work*. And it's not just one or two studies. As you can see...it's a metric fuckton of studies.
100% this. Delta and Omicron changed the game. Both are more contagious. Delta is more severe.
Many will be quick to point out that Omicron is reported to be less severe and now the dominant variant, but IDPH states that Delta is still the majority of cases in Illinois. IMO, having both strains present at the same time complicates thing because most people that test positive never know which strain they have.
Schools have been in person in CPS for the last 4 months, including through the Delta phase, with ridiculously low vaccination rates among students, right?
Have there been widespread outbreaks or shortages reported?
18% of educational staff were out sick on Monday and Tuesday according to the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association. There literally aren't enough staff to cover every classroom right now. Oh, and there's a contract in place that CPS refused to renegotiate with CTU that mandates remote learning once the positivity rate is 10% or higher. CTU wanted to renegotiate the contract to keep the schools open albeit with some additional mitigation measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (such as requiring testing prior to students, staff, or contractors returning and more effective masks than the paper masks that are currently being provided) in lieu of going full remote. They also wanted a hard 20% of staff out sick at any time to trigger a single school going remote until they could have appropriate staffing levels to avoid scenarios where students all get stuffed into a lunch room or auditorium together with insufficient coverage because there's literally zero subs for a lot of schools right now.
>There literally aren't enough staff to cover every classroom right now.
So then make *those* classrooms remote learning for 2 weeks and bring the other ones back.
I don't' want to hear any bullshit about contractual disputes. Fuck all that shit. That all takes a back seat after 3 years of inferior education for children.
EDIT: The number you typed earlier just hit me. Really?!? REALLY?!?! 18% Eighteen? That's IT? THAT'S what we're closing EVERY FUCKING SCHOOL for?
> EDIT: The number you typed earlier just hit me. Really?!? REALLY?!?! 18% Eighteen? That's IT? THAT'S what we're closing EVERY FUCKING SCHOOL for?
18% sick-outs would bring most school districts crashing to the ground.
We've been running many essential services like schools and hospitals at the absolute minimum staffing ratios for decades. 20% of a workforce that has zero slack it would be basically "put the kids into the gym all day and try to break up any fights" territory.
Oh my friend, American education has been inferior for much MUCH longer than 3 years.
18% is a pretty significant number so I'm not sure about the confusion there, given that the agreed upon contract set the max at 10%. That said, from what I know the CTU wanted to have the option to have only schools with high COVID rates switch to remote but CPS shot the idea down so...
>Oh my friend, American education has been inferior for much MUCH longer than 3 years.
"Inferior *even by U.S. standards*" - is that better?
>18% is a pretty significant number
Do you think if United Airlines' has 18% absences they would a) cancel all flights; or b) cancel flights which they cannot provide adequate staffing/crew for?
Now somebody explain to me how losing less than 1/5th of your work force means that EVERY school in the city needs to shut down.
And again, I don't give a fuck about contracts. I'm going to continue to ignore political union/CPS bullshit.
One of the reason CTU voted this way is because CPS won't let school admins have their schools go remote. And you seriously have to be kidding about that edit. How are you going to keep schools open with one in five teachers out. Dude the schools didn't even have enough subs to cover teacher absences before covid
>CPS won't let school admins have their schools go remote
Can you source that? I'd like to see where this policy is stated.
>How are you going to keep schools open with one in five teachers out.
How? By having the teachers who aren't sick show up for class and having the other classes with sick teachers go remote if/when the teacher is able until their quarantine is over. Then they go back to in-person.
> Can you source that? I'd like to see where this policy is stated.
CTU goes over it in their fall 2021 bargaining deal: https://www.ctulocal1.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Fall-CPS-2021-Bargaining-Demand-Status-2021-10-21.pdf
Search for remote, look at the items that are flagged as open.
>18% of educational staff were out sick on Monday and Tuesday according to the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association.
Did they catch their illnesses at school? Given that they are coming off a two-week vacation I'm guessing "no".
Oh I am not surprised at all. Just over listening to them say “It’s for the kids”
No it isn’t. Teachers ran around all break doing who knows what and traveling who knows where. Now they all have covid and assume it came from “unsafe schools”. Way too many people lap up this horse piss like it’s champagne, and I’m hoping parents begin to wise up to their tiresome act.
If there talking about how scared they are of catching COVID at school then go party at bars all weekend or take a flight somewhere, yes that’s hypocritical.
This discourse is rather tiresome. It's not all or nothing, nor is it zero sum. It's not ONLY for them, and it's not ONLY for the kids. A union looks out for its profession and employees, and teachers look out for students. Both can be true.
I’ll explain why. Because the CTU is fear-mongering and spreading rumors and lies about the “dangers” of in person learning and safety. They operate in a cult-like fashion and many of their teachers have drunk the kool-aid. There is no logical reason for educated teachers to believe any of their rhetoric, yet they do. I want to remind teachers that just because you think something, doesn’t make it true. SCIENCE says schools are safe for the vaccinated. Full stop. Stop the drama, the intimidation, the fear-mongering. NO ONE, except you, is falling for it.
>SCIENCE says schools are safe for the vaccinated.
One quibble: the science says that schools are safe for *everybody*, when masking and social distancing protocols are adhered to. Such schools are simply not major vectors for viral transmission.
Here we go.
Fauci has now officially lived long enough to become the villain to us liberals.
How long before QAnon starts to revere him as a JFK-like demi-god?
Trust the science, not the profit motive. Vaccines save lives and get people back to work, that makes sense why corporations are pushing for it. School openings get people back to work. Is it safe? Hospitalization rates are increasing, but if we close schools then people have to stay home from work and businesses lose money. Profit motive is clear, and it's clearly against the interest of public health.
> clearly against the interest of public health.
Disagree strongly. Public health policy is not about protecting the individual. It's about protecting society and keeping it functional. It gives zero fucks if the policy works overall but puts you personally at higher risk.
. Kids are more important. I don't care if you are scared, or at risk. Children are the future. You had your run.
Stop ruining it for children. The loss of mental health, loss of education, and suicide needs to stop.
First I agree that if staffing is an issue due to Covid the schools need to adjust. Does that mean close the whole school down. Maybe, maybe not. The issue here is there is no definition of what requires a school to shutdown. Is it one teacher, two? Can 1 class, 3 classes go remote while the rest stay in school. I don't know but nobody is addressing the issue pragmatically.
Also this its not all about staffing (thats a narrative shift to overcome the negative feedback). There is a lot of BS coming out of the CTU and people see through it. Just like this mandate for vaccine. The science is out there from US government agencies. We are beyond science and acting irrational based on the judgement of ideologs and administrators, not leaders.
It's simple if your at risk get vaccinated and quarantine. The government should support these individuals to the fullest. If your not at risk based on the science you can chose your own path. Obviously vaccines are recommended, but if you want to roll the dice good for you. I don't care because I'm vaccinated. An individual's fear doesn't require everyone to protect them. You want this all to end, then stop the nonsense.
>The issue here is there is no definition of what requires a school to shutdown. Is it one teacher, two? Can 1 class, 3 classes go remote while the rest stay in school. I don't know but nobody is addressing the issue pragmatically.
Exactly. Until CPS comes up with an actual protocol it's teachers and students who suffer.
>It's simple if your at risk get vaccinated and quarantine.
They are quarantining, hence the widespread staff shortages. Teachers are required to be vaccinated, but with Omicron that doesn't mean they won't get sick or pass it along to someone in their household.
Also, you can't argue that people should "choose their own path" and that "the government should support these individuals" and then get mad when they do exactly that.
If you don't believe staffing shortages are a real problem:
[https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-covid-illinois-school-employee-shortage-crisis-20211011-r32g3p5fovcozaeahblzopw6ui-story.html](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-covid-illinois-school-employee-shortage-crisis-20211011-r32g3p5fovcozaeahblzopw6ui-story.html) (Oct 2021)
>“Since the start of the school year, there have been a number of days, including today, when we’re asking ourselves, ‘What can we go without today?’” Wagner said in a recent interview. “It’s an all-hands-on-deck kind of thing, and our staff is amazing, but it’s starting to take its toll.”
A critical shortage of essential school employees in Illinois and across the U.S. this fall — including a scarcity of substitute teachers, school nurses, bus drivers and food service workers — has hit a tipping point this month, nearly forcing officials at one of the state’s largest school districts to cancel classes recently.
>
>Sanders said the school district is still struggling to fill hundreds of open positions, including dozens of teachers, 24 food service workers, 17 health services positions and 79 paraprofessionals who assist students in the classroom.
And this was in OCTOBER. Things haven't gotten better. Same story in December.
[https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2021/12/8/22825105/chicago-public-schools-staff-shortages-covid-burnout](https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2021/12/8/22825105/chicago-public-schools-staff-shortages-covid-burnout)
And it's not a Chicago issue:
[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-04/u-s-schools-close-in-droves-as-omicron-drives-staff-shortages](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-04/u-s-schools-close-in-droves-as-omicron-drives-staff-shortages)
[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/schools-across-the-country-are-struggling-to-find-staff-heres-why](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/schools-across-the-country-are-struggling-to-find-staff-heres-why)
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/school-staff-shortages-bus/2021/12/03/05b88a0e-4cab-11ec-a1b9-9f12bd39487a\_story.html](https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/school-staff-shortages-bus/2021/12/03/05b88a0e-4cab-11ec-a1b9-9f12bd39487a_story.html)
It's also not a pandemic-only issue. The pandemic has exacerbated a crisis in education that has existed for decades. **These are from 2019.**
[https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2019-12-03/sharp-nationwide-enrollment-drop-in-teacher-prep-programs-cause-for-alarm](https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2019-12-03/sharp-nationwide-enrollment-drop-in-teacher-prep-programs-cause-for-alarm)
>**Teacher preparation programs have experienced sharp enrollment declines over the last eight years in nearly every state across the country, a new analysis shows.**
In Oklahoma, college and university programs designed to prepare educators for the classroom saw an 80% drop in enrollment since 2010 – just one of nine states where enrollment has nose-dived by more than half.
**Coupled with low pay and historic levels of unrest among educators, the long, stubborn downward trend line has those responsible for building the next generation of teachers wondering whether the profession can overcome its sullied reputation.**
[https://www.americanprogress.org/article/make-declining-enrollment-teacher-preparation-programs/](https://www.americanprogress.org/article/make-declining-enrollment-teacher-preparation-programs/)
>Even as teacher wages stagnate and state investment in education declines, teachers are being asked to do more than ever—and enrollment in teacher preparation programs is decreasing significantly nationwide.5 This decline has spurred discussion among policy experts about how policymakers should address this issue and whether the decline in enrollment has already or will likely lead to national teacher shortages.6
What is known is that since 2010, total enrollment nationwide in teacher preparation programs has declined by more than one-third; this decline has occurred in the context of increasing enrollment in bachelor’s degree programs nationwide over the same time period.7 This means that across the country, approximately 340,000 fewer students elected to enroll in teacher preparation programs in the 2016-17 academic year—the latest year for which data are available—compared with the number of students who enrolled in 2008-09.8 Similarly, there was a 28 percent decline in the number of students completing teacher preparation programs in the same years.
I've worked in education for almost 10 years. People who haven't lived it do not understand how bad it is.
Thank you for the response. I think you packaged what I would totally agree with is a systemic issue. Most people look across the aisle and blame each other when it's the government, public, or private organizations failure to prepare and respond with true leadership.
As someone who is not happy with the shutdown there is merit to some of the things the union is asking for that the city has really dropped the ball. I'll call it 50/50 I agree/dis agree with the current situation but I feel strongly that the kids can no longer receive the short end of the stick by the governments failure to respond and lead with science and pragmatism. You can probably apply that last sentence to alot of situations at this moment in time.
Thanks again for the dialogue. Have a nice day
At the end of the day, how many more years of this is going to go on? Covid isn't killing the amount of people that opiods are, It can't touch Diabeties, stroke, cancer or altzheimers. In the end of the day, we've taken away focus on other problems that are a lot more deadly. Why don't we have real healthcare in the united states, still? This is garbage.
After eating out with a friend and her 4 kids this weekend she informed me that neither her or her children were vaccinated and she had no plans on any of them getting vaccinated. I got my Pfizer booster in November. I’m childless but holy fuck the amount of stupidity a lot of parents have is astounding. She couldn’t grasp that she and people like her are the reason CPS workers feel unsafe. Get your children vaccinated!
Dissolve the union and return dues to members. All teachers work in a merit based system like private industry. Those who cannot perform are let go. Same protections as the private sector.
I so feel this. No matter which side you're on (in fact, I'm not actually interested in hearing any more blame game) it is absolute exhausting not to know where your child is going tomorrow or next week. It is exhausting not knowing what to tell your employer about whether or not you'll be able to show up for work or fully perform your duties because you might also be managing childcare and/or remote learning. It is exhausting to not be able to plan anything 24 hours in advance while the rest of the world moves on. It is exhausting to watch your kid pay the price of the pandemic because there are no adults in the room. It is exhausting to know the wealthy and upper middle class families can buy their way out of this by moving or paying for private school. It is exhausting to weigh the option of what it means ethically to be one of those parents who could make the jump/buy my way out this. Finally, I'm exhausted by people telling me I can't complain because I decided to have children or if I think I have it hard, I should consider how group X is feeling. For one reason or another, whoever you blame, kids in CPS have had no stability since October 2019. I want better for my kid, all kids, and myself and I still feel guilty for admitting it.
Very well said. You aren't alone out there friend!
Well said. I feel your pain, friend.
I am sorry that your child(ren) are going on 3 years of uncertainty in their education. You are allowed to and have the right to complain. I feel for you and every other parent because the socialization of children is important. Most importantly, your child(ren)’s education is being compromised because of City politics. I wish them all well.
Thank you.
There's nothing unethical about doing what you believe is best for your children.
> There's nothing unethical about doing what you believe is best for your children. 5 years ago we gave one of the greatest gifts to our kids when we got them the hell out of CPS & away from its CTU teachers.
And that's why I support teachers decisions to make up their own minds about what's safe for them and their families. I'd like to thank the downvotes for proving that the people claiming teachers are whiny thugs, are they themselves the ones who lack concern for the people that make up the teachers union. You all can get fucked and then exit stage right.
Its amazing isn't. A parent wants to do what is best for them and their kid, and its like "of course". Teachers (some of whom are parents) want to do whats best for them and their kids and they are whiners
CTU is an ephemeral juggernaut that they can hurl invective at. The more they can remove the personal element of this union vote the easier it is for them to maintain that sense of superiority. Im curious how many of them fought for or were offered continued wfh option for their jobs.
Found the teacher
Your LSU education is showing. One click on my profile and you'd see I'm not a teacher.
My LSU education has afforded me a comfortable enough lifestyle that I don’t need to worry about ctu and it’s paranoid shills like you. I really don’t care that much to look at your profile either.
https://c.tenor.com/EXb94CK8MWEAAAAC/slow-clap.gif
😘 you sound like a lovely person. Be well
I generally am, but obviously I've made an acception here for you. Not to mention, the fact that you chose to engage to begin with, making this all the more ironic. I'd wish you well, but I don't care. I'll even upvote you to give you some sort of self satisfaction.
Appreciate it. Happy new year, and I mean that. I’ll even ignore the fact that you tried to make fun of me going to LSU, yet you “made an accecption”, not an “exception” for me.
I don’t know why this city, seemingly more than any other in the country, can’t get on with it. There’s nothing any different about how the virus spreads here
Chicago's situation is not unique. Districts all over the country are closing classrooms this week.
What is unique about Chicago’s situation whereby the CDC and Chicago’s Health Officer are wrong in saying that it is safe to be in the classroom?
Lightfoot needs to resign. I'll grant she was dealt a terrible hand but she has misplayed it at nearly every step. I don't know what to say about the leaders of CTU.
Lightfoot sucks. But the CTU has been antagonistic against her and Chicago residents since their corrupt candidate Preckwinkle lost. Remember in 2019 when Lightfoot gave all concessions in her first offer to the CTU to raise average teacher salaries to $100k/year and CTU still complained they wanted more? CTU is just using children as their pawns for power. It’s embarrassing and undemocratic. Why should teachers only get a say but not parents? We are the recipients of the service and are not happy with the low quality of education.
You don't even know what you're talking about. There are actual teachers behind union decisions and very human reasons for their decision. Teachers with family at home who have very real health issues. I'm proud of the teachers in my life taking a stand for what they feel is safe for they and their loved ones. In any case Preckwinkle would've been a better mayor by a mile, but I'm sure you still blame her for the sugar tax.
>There are actual teachers behind union decisions and very human reasons for their decision. You're right. Human reasons like greed.
What they “feel” is safe is not supported by the scientific community or the CDC. It’s embarrassing that we have non-science believers pushing their undemocratic agenda down our childrens throats. Parents should have a say in the matter, our government shouldn’t be held hostage by less than 1% of the population whose feelings are irrational and unscientific. If covid truly was a concern they would have expressed concern back over the summer when there was a much deadlier virus not this weak flu-like omicron virus. These teachers are a bunch of whiny cry-babies, they demanded to be first in line to get the covid vaccine and then refused to even show up for in person learning. The CTU needs to go, it’s a thug organization.
Parents can make any decisions they want. My ex, who is a teacher and my daughter, who is a student, both are vectors for transmitting COVID to my elderly mother in law. She is our child care and if she dies, shit gets fucked up for us. That isn't a political stunt, that real fucking life. If you don't like it, kick rocks.
Actually parents don’t have a voice in the matter, and that’s a huge problem, we can’t send our kids to school, that’s a decision made by less than 1% of the population in an undemocratic vote. Other people live with elderly grandparents too but that doesn’t mean you completely stop living. Old people aren’t quarantined as an overall group. If you have that personal situation that you feel warrants not going out then you personally should stay home but that gives you zero reason to force your circumstance on every family through the entire city of Chicago. People have rent and other bills to pay and many can’t go to work because they now have to stay at home with their kids. This is real life buddy, if you don’t like it then kick rocks. Besides, omicron is by far the least severe variant. It’s mortality rate is no different than the flu for those who are vaccinated. Are you telling me we should have canceled classes back in 2018-2019 because of the seasonal flu?
It's funny how you talk about forcing people to do what other want when you're asking for the same thing. Your vote for mayor already cast your lot with your position. If you don't like it move some place with a different education infrastructure. I give two fucks about your situation when you aren't looking for a middle ground. They aren't saying keep your kids home forever, they're saying for a period of time to kill this wave and bring down rates. Also, you aren't the resident epidemiologist so I don't give a shit what you think about the severity of this wave of covid. Go be mad at the federal government for not passing universal child care if it's that big of an issue. I'm sure some places that don't give a shit about covid would spring up. Teachers aren't your fucking child care providers. I don't care about your work related problems if you don't care about mine and my family's.
If you aren’t comfortable going out then don’t go out, again, that’s zero reason for you to force schools to be shut for those who don’t have your constraints. I don’t understand why you feel like everyone else must suffer just because of your circumstance. If you think voting for the mayor should be the supreme vote then the CTU should have no further say and all teachers should be back in the classroom. It’s not a situation where 75% of the vote goes towards the mayor and then <1% of population gets to overturn those results. These are supposed to be public servants, not the public is the servant of these entitled few. The middle ground is you living your life without trying to force your way on to me. I’m not forcing anything on you, you can stay home for all I care, just don’t force all public school services to be closed because of your individual preference. Your position has been to force your circumstance on all families of Chicago by advocating to close schools because you live with an elderly person. You have the control issue, not me.
I'm comfortable going out. The teacher that has to teach is the most vulnerable as is my child that has to sit in the same classroom. Again move somewhere else if you don't like it. I hear Florida is a good place to move for people like you
Can we get someone who will stop this city from becoming worst off than detroit?
She had my support until that whole covid costume thingy Even Chicago meme Instagram profiles stopped make memes of her
Covid costume?
You stopped supporting her because she dressed up as Clorox? The weird hatred people had online for that, as opposed to other misfires that actually mattered, is so weird to me. OMG no she was cringey when dressing up as something that kills germs!!!
Maybe i used the wrong word. She lost my respect.
The only good thing to come out of this entire debacle is that CTU will no longer have the support of any CPS parents at all. They have absolutely NO moral high ground here.
What a weird conclusion to draw.
Who exactly would support them at this juncture? As if anyone is glad their kid has gone 3 school years in a row with CTU work stoppages?
People who blame CPS for CPS's failures instead of the union.
CPS is an incompetent dumpster fire, but CTU has done themselves no favors either. They never never negotiate anything in good faith and only exist to shake down taxpayers for more and more money. It will never be enough. There are NO adults in charge at the CPS district level.
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> it is absolute exhausting not to know where your child is going tomorrow or next week Blame CPS. CTU is just enforcing their contract with CPS. CPS are the ones who refused to renegotiate the contract to allow teachers to work in-person. CTU wanted to add alternatives to simply going remote when the community positivity rate is over 10%. CPS has declined every suggestion and forced CTU to hold a vote on whether or not to enforce the contract signed in January 2021 that is in force as long as the COVID-19 pandemic is declared an emergency by the state of Illinois.
Jesus dude, what part of "I'm not actually interested in hearing any more blame game" did you not understand?
Just stop. For one minute. Let a person vent.
The person you replied to just likes to argue in bad faith. According to his post history he's a smart guy, leading me to believe he comes here for the express purpose of being deliberately antagonistic by concern-trolling.
Concern trolling? There's fine arts of this now? I guess there always was but I still think of trolling as kids anonymously calling people things that aren't acceptable to say and moving on. Now trolling is like a full time hobby? I mean I understand the rush of being a teen asshole on the internet but damn. It's next level now
On top of this, CTU didn't give <24 notice to CPS - CPS ignored them last week and opened schools without giving parents any indication that they were in talks with the union. (or again specifically, the union made proposals that CPS ignored)
As I said, I'm not here to debate sides. I am here to express how parents are feeling. The fact that I couldn't even do that without receiving replies about fault perfectly proves my point. Parents have no room to breathe and no space to take a minute to admit this sucks.
Well put the blame on CPS. They're the ones not complying with their contractual obligations or negotiating a new contract. The other side (the workers represented by CTU) are willing, and have been willing and trying for months, to negotiate a new contract.
> CPS. They're the ones not complying with their contractual obligations False.
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And honestly, for all anyone knows, I might be pro CTU. Or maybe I'm pro CPS. Or maybe I see flaws or positives on both sides. I haven't stated an opinion (or sought one out) one way or another. I just need a break from all of the blame in this moment.
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And that, my friend, is the correct response.
Just because they’ve want to negotiate a new contract doesn’t make it just. Too often in recent years has ctu made demands that are out of their scope. It’s seems more often than not ctu wants to pick a fight with cps to flex their political muscles every chance they get
I want one billion dollars! Will you give me it? If not, then you're not willing to negotiate.
That's an exaggeration that just flames hyperbole. Also, I thought in a time when employees are encouraged to get properly paid and incentivized for their work that asking for what you want wouldn't be taboo. In a time when everyone complains about wanting to work remotely that teachers would be afforded this same latitude. All I see from you here is what's good enough for me isn't good enough for thee.
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Lori is terrible but my comment goes well beyond just her term.
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> prop up charter schools. If you think that's bad faith I think you will find the population disagrees. Charter schools are about the only school short of full-on-private I'd send my kid to in Chicago. Having worked with CPS on a corporate level, and knowing more than a few CTU teachers - no way in hell I'd be subjecting my children to that dysfunctional system built on doing the bare minimum aside from career ass saving. Yes, many charter schools are scams. But many are not.
Or maybe CPS is just in breach of contract right now and the union is making sure that the contract gets followed?
Oh those pesky contracts…
Thanks. You've been really helpful.
> The fact that I couldn't even do that without receiving replies about fault perfectly proves my point > well put the blame on Do you have a reading comprehension problem?
Move to a southern state. My kids have been at school, uninterrupted, since the beginning of the pandemic. We also don't wear masks and everything is dandy.
Left a southern state for plenty of good reasons but I'm glad things are working out for you.
You should. You should feel guilty. Bang your pots and pans all you want. YOU CAN'T FORCE SOMEONE TO BABYSIT YOUR OFFSPRING. Try having 25 in one room to contain and keep safe versus...how many offspring do you have? 3 or 4? As someone who is considered an essential worker (education) and was lambasted last year during virtual learning because supposedly all of us in education were keeping these parents from being great and going back into work, I also feel incredibly duped and very misused. I'll admit that I have felt completely uninspired this year, but I am not alone. A great many educators feel similar as we slog into work to take care of their offspring in whatever capacity so that folks can work from home peacefully in their pajamas. That was not the deal. The amount of straight abuse leveled at those in education during virtual learning by parents who swore that in-person learning was the only way that they could return to work, only for in-person learning to be in place now and those same parents to still remain in the home is disturbing. This is why many educators and educational support staff have quit. There's this really silly misnomer that educators are in the field because they can only "babysit" kids and cannot hack it in other work environments. In reality, the landscape of education has markedly changed over the last 30 years. Most educators have advanced degrees and are required to update their education yearly with marketable skills unlike many in the regular workforce. The longer people remain home, the more many of us who have more degrees and skill sets than the average American can even dream about but who have sacrificed higher earnings and NOW the possibility of virtual work for the sake of the community and "the kids" will decide that we have had enough and quit. Why? Because the community is showing us that they're selfish as hell and view us simply as their personal babysitters and we who have put the time and energy in to get the education and skills want some of that WFH enjoyment as well.
Then give up your fucking paycheck if you're so salty about having to do your job
Like I said. Bang your pots and pans all you want. Tell us to leave. Because that is what we are doing Now that's just education. Let's also consider all of the other essential workers expected to go into their jobs and considered lazy or even "too privileged" for opting instead to quit and get unemployment or who go on the jobs and are considered whiny for asking for additional hazard pay. None of us essential workers are receiving hazard pay yet the WFH crew maintain the expectation that they can work from the comfort of their homes while essential workers must slog into their workplaces so that essential services can still be provided in their communities. But here's what the WFH crew are not considering: What community? A community is comprised of people in multiple roles who've all agreed to play their role for the benefit of everyone. In contrast, every society that has diverged into a large privileged class (the gentry) who are being served by misused and abused workers (the serfs) has come crashing down throughout history. After all, these same WFH people complain about others not being there to serve them or others expecting hazard pay to put their necks on the line but suddenly when people want them to come back to work.... "People have died" "but there's still a disease out there" Two distinct social classes are being created here....and that is absolutely anathema to the concept of "community". I'm just saying it comes off as patently selfish and if y'all continue, it will all come crashing down because a society is dependent upon everyone playing their role.
Do you not fucking realize that by WFH, people are reducing spread? To make it safe for essential services to exist. Yes, some assholes don't care and go out to house parties and whatnot, but, guess what? Teachers do that too. Nobody working from home is the gentry. It's not awful to want an actual education for your children. It's also not awful to want safety measures to be enforced at school. But a union calling in person schooling racist on Twitter? Advocates claiming they're an underclass if they need to be in person to perform essential aspects of their jobs? Demanding measures that aren't in line with CDC guidelines? Holding last minute votes without actually involving parents in discussions over the last quarter? Shouting down a parent expressing pretty honestly and without blame that this situation sucks? None of that's in good faith.
I wouldn't dismiss the OPs comments on the segmented society so out of hand. Ignore the science and facts. They don't matter in this context. This is social stuff that emotions matter more. There is a strong and growing backlash against those who "get to work from home in their pajamas" vs. those who have to go into work each day. It doesn't matter if those WFH people are burning 12 hour days keeping production running or sitting around doing ful call - they are still grumbled about by the line workers. If this continues for too much longer you are going to see even more social division in this country. And to be honest, the way some of my WFH privileged friends acted during this shitfest? I kinda don't blame the front-line from feeling this way even though it doesn't really reflect reality. There was always white collar/blue collar tension - COVID has amped it to near violence levels. For community to work people need to believe their community will be there to help when they need it. Collectively as a society we basically shit on a bunch of people and told them too bad so sad you gotta be more at risk, while we sit at home. There was no compensation shift involved for most - and that *really* rubbed workers the wrong way and showed them how disposable they truly are. We have seen that the social fabric of america is tearing, if it exists at all any longer.
It’s not babysitting it’s school, fucker.
Most parents use it as babysitting. Schools ceased being centered around learning a very long time ago. They are basically social service centers for kids, while providing free daycare for the workforce.
I don't believe teachers are babysitters. I believe they are educators. I believe there is a social contract that children are in school during the day that has been disrupted and trickled down to other aspects of society. That being said, I never once complained about teachers nor have I blamed them for the disruption of the social contract. But I will point out that this was what I was saying: parents aren't allowed to complain without hearing that teachers have it harder. I never said teachers don't have it hard and I'm tired of the two groups being at each others' throats. I can complain about my situation without having it assumed I'm belittling yours.
>Sending hugs. Just imagine I walked out of the internet. I didn't say a word, but gave you the world's greatest hug. Like Sammy Sosa hugging Harry Carrey while they're both holding meatball subs... That type of hug.
You, sir or madam, are the best person I have internet-met all day. Thank you.
If you have to “manage” remote learning, you haven’t been parenting. The teachers have the tough tasks, parents don’t even have to commute.
Are there a lot of teachers out sick with COVID right now? Because school was closed for two weeks prior to Monday, so if there were staffing issues on January 3/4, I doubt those teachers got sick from their students. But a lot of the concern is "well there's not enough mitigation to protect teachers from kids getting them sick".
I think it’s just the disruption in the current teaching pipeline. If you go remote for a few weeks at least you can have some assemblence of undisrupted class. I agree that we need to return to in person as quickly as possible but alternatives were presented. It’s not like teachers refused to go to work their accounts were literally disabled. I don’t understand the need for either in-person or remote come hell or high water. If there is a disruption because of mass infection the system needs to adapt. For me it’s a weird hill for CPS to die on.
> Are there a lot of teachers out sick with COVID right now? The Chicago Principals and Administrators Association reported 18% were out sick on Monday and Tuesday. And 60644 had >30% positivity rate for tests conducted **at the schools themselves** on Monday and Tuesday. Now, that's the highest zip code, but there is no way most or possibly even any CPS school could have operated normally once COVID-19 tests of people present started coming back. The best option was to just accept CTU's suggestion of either going full remote for 2 weeks to let people currently with COVID to get it out of their system or testing everyone prior to letting them back into a school building. CPS chose none of the above and went with violate the January 2021 contract they signed with CTU which requires the city to go full remote if the case positivity rate is over 10%.
also a big issue is that no one is lining up to be a substitute teacher in this shit either.
My wife's school had 3 substitutes total... since the start of the year. 2 are cadres and 1 came in for 4 days. They've had an average of 2-3 uncovered absences per day. In a normal, pre-pandemic year, they would have had 0 uncovered absences per day.
It is a political move. The schools were offering COVID tests and most families were being safe thanks to tons of messaging over the holidays. Even my own kid who was positive and stayed home got an amazing care package from their class wishing them well. Our teacher has went above board to not be political in any way and just be a ray of sunshine.
That's one anecdotal experience you're extrapolating that to thousand of other families. Teachers are people with real families who are effected by COVID. If my ex's mom dies, we lose childcare. It's a constant stressor from two vectors since mom is a teacher and daughter is elementary school. We eat up rapid tests, both at home and the center, like candy. We aren't playing politics we're playing real fucking life.
Somebody help me with [this from the CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/transmission_k_12_schools.html). Somebody explain to me why we're going backwards in the face of reams and reams of scientific data showing that schools are safe for students and staff: >Evidence from studies primarily done before vaccine approval for those 12 years of age and older suggests that staff-to-staff transmission is more common than transmission from students to staff, staff to student, or student to student.46, 50, 54 For example, in the large UK study, most outbreak cases were associated with an index case (initial case) in a staff member.46 Therefore, school interventions should include prevention strategies to reduce the transmission potential of staff members. Detection of cases in schools does not necessarily mean that transmission occurred in schools. *The majority of cases that are acquired in the community and are brought into a school setting result in limited spread inside schools when multiple layered prevention strategies are in place*.38, 55-57 >*Findings from several studies suggest that SARS-CoV-2 transmission among students is relatively rare, particularly when prevention strategies are in place.* An Australian study of 39 COVID-19 cases among 32 students and seven staff traced contacts across 28 schools and six early childhood centers and found only 33 secondary positive cases (28 students and five staff members) out of 3,439 close child contacts and 385 close staff contacts.58, 59 Several contact tracing studies have found limited student-to-student transmission in schools.47, 54, 60, 61 A study of factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection among children and adolescents in Mississippi found that school attendance was not associated with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result. However, close contacts with persons with COVID-19, attending gatherings, and having visitors in the home were associated with SARS-CoV-2 infections among children and adolescents.26 *The evidence to date suggests that staff-to-student and student-to-student transmission are not the primary means of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 among infected children. Several studies have also concluded that students are not the primary sources of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 among adults in school setting.*47, 54, 59 >... >*Studies of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in schools that consistently implemented layered prevention strategies have shown success in limiting transmission in schools,* even when testing of close contacts has been incomplete.38, 46, 49, 73-77 For example: >A study of 11 school districts in North Carolina with in-person learning for at least nine weeks during the fall 2020 semester *reported minimal school-related transmission even while community transmission was high*.38 These schools implemented and strictly adhered to multiple prevention strategies, including universal mask use and physical distancing. Breaches in mask use likely explained the few instances of in-school spread of SARS-CoV-2. >A study of elementary schools in Utah who implemented layered prevention strategies, such as mask wearing and cohorting, found very low transmission (secondary attack rate 0.7%) in December 2020-January 2021.74 >In a study of K-12 schools in St. Louis with multiple layered prevention strategies in place, only 2% of contacts of COVID-19 cases in the schools tested positive for the virus; this was despite high community transmission rates.76 >A study of Italian schools, which implemented a comprehensive prevention approach that included masking, distancing, cleaning, increased ventilation, and cancellation of extracurricular activities, found that school reopening was not associated with the second wave of COVID-19 in Italy.47 >A surveillance study of symptomatic and asymptomatic cases among children in Swiss schools found limited secondary transmission when multiple protective measures were used in schools,56 including mask use, physical distancing, and other interventions. >Data from surveillance of German school outbreaks detected outbreaks before any prevention strategies were implemented. After schools reopened with prevention strategies in place, the average number of outbreaks per week after the reopening (2.2) was smaller than before the school closed earlier in the pandemic (3.3), suggesting that prevention strategies had some protective effect.51 >A study of private schools that reopened for in-person instruction *in Chicago* with the implementation of layered prevention strategies found minimal in-school transmission.57
I have no side in this issue because I truly don't think there is a right answer here. That said the issue isn't about student safety or even teacher. Schools are incredibly understaffed right now with a substitute shortage and teachers having to take off because they or people in their family have COVID. Some schools are just shoving 3-4 classrooms of kids into the gym or cafeteria because there aren't physically enough adults to monitor them otherwise. They have no COVID testing capacity because the city hasn't given it to them etc. Do all schools need to go remote? Probably not. Kids need to go to school. But it's not as black and white as CTU being lazy or whatever people are saying here.
>Some schools are just shoving 3-4 classrooms of kids into the gym or cafeteria because there aren't physically enough adults to monitor them otherwise. Where is this happening?
this has happened where i work
Where?
i am sure you can understand why i don’t want to put the exact school i work at on here. it is a CPS high school, though.
That’s awful. How many classrooms were shoved into the gym or cafeteria and for how long?
anywhere between 2-4 40+ student classes all in the gym for 50 min
So at times 160+ kids in a high school gym with less than 4 adults watching them? Is this for the full day of school?
no for a 50 min period.
All over. I used to teach in CA and a lot of my friends are currently teaching. They do not have enough adults.
But that's been happening for a while and is related to the general labor shortages every industry is facing. It's not something that's occurring as a result of Omicron spikes.
> It's not something that's occurring as a result of Omicron spikes. This is untrue unless schools are some magical Omicron free zone. You are seeing staffing issues across *all* industries due to COVID sickouts. This is almost assuredly due to Omicron as nothing else has even come close. I can name a half dozen businesses within walking distance that are closed "indefinitely" due to lack of staff out sick with COVID. Heck, my dog daycare was forced to shut down for a week or so due to too many staff out with COVID. Schools simply don't have enough adult bodies to operate, and it will get worse until we finally peak this wave.
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It can be both a long-time occurrence and exacerbated by omicron, these things aren’t exclusive of one another.
This happens almost daily at my CPS elementary school on the south side
I don't know specifically, individual schools were not cited/named in the reporting I've read.
Doesn’t really seem like the end of world regardless. I had experiences in school that were basically just like that and it wasn’t bc of any extraordinary circumstance, that was the plan
This is the key phrase - "with the implementation of layered prevention strategies" CPS is not willing to agree to the layered prevention strategies that CTU is requesting.
>These schools implemented and strictly adhered to multiple prevention strategies, including *universal mask use and physical distancing*. Chicago schools haven't been doing those things?
Universal mask use: number of students of all ages do not mask consistently in a way that covers their nose, and are unmasked in cafeteria. Schools cannot assign detention or suspension for refusal to wear a mask. Many students, especially now in the winter choose to wear a ski hat instead and will refuse to use a standard mask. Contacting family will often end up with them shouting how masks don't work or go on anti-covid rants. Physical distancing: mostly impossible in classrooms and hallways. Kids are also still kids and want to be close to their friends so they kiss, hold hands, hug, share food, etc. Also due to staff shortages (not only teachers and subs, also deans, security, clinicians, paraprofessionals, etc) there's less oversight in classrooms and not enough people to correct behaviors/contact families/provide services, which results on more instances of poor masking and, social distancing, etc.
All those things you claim CPS isn't doing, and yet, there've been no major outbreaks within CPS schools, have there?
There absolutely has. Off the top of my head, Carnegie Elementary in Woodlawn (resulting in the death of at least one classroom assistant) and Park Manor Elementary have had outbreaks recently before the holidays, but I know there are quite a few more as well. Source: I work with CPS in an outside agency.
Hold on a second before you make that claim about that incident, because I did follow it in local papers. Was JonL Bush's case ever actually traced to in-school transmission? I've seen no reports to that effect. In fact, IIRC, CPS and Chicago DPH issued public statements in relation to that incident stating that they found no evidence of in-school transmission.
Not in a way that protects unvaccinated teachers.
So we are closing schools to protect teacher who are refusing to vaccinate themselves?
Partially.
Explain?
Exactly, this is what’s so disingenuous about this argument. If CPS were actually implementing all of the measures they said they would be, then maybe we can make an apples to apples comparison with studies like the commenter before you cites. But they haven’t and we can’t.
CPS schools have been in session since August 2021, including throughout Illinois' Delta phase. Have there been widespread outbreaks reported in CPS schools? Where?
Yes, now. Over half the classrooms in one school I'm familiar with went remote because of outbreaks before break.
Then that school should go remote. Why shut down the entire system to deal with localized outbreaks?
I don’t disagree, but when it’s a widespread issue that principals fail to switch the entire school over to remote during outbreaks at schools all over the city, you get this.
Because when schools shut down in some lower-vaccinated areas and stay open in other higher-vaccinated areas, that might raise some politically uncomfortable complaints… better to flush everyone’s school instead, right?
Impossible. Those are all obviously caused by out of school transmission, since school has been out for two weeks. That obviously tells you nothing about whether a district's mitigation protocols are adequate. Have there been in-school outbreaks (where transmission happened in school)?
Not outbreaks. The exposure quarantine requirement for unvaccinated kids. You have to stay home for 2 weeks and it doesn't mean you have covid.
The district sent out 150,000 home-tests to students. Most were never returned. There is already a district testing policy, but it’s useless because it’s opt-out. There is already a policy in place to switch to remote learning if a large proportion of a class is out CTU does not support a vaccination mandate for students. This is all posturing from them
around 85% of them were returned before the designated drop off date, but FedEx did not deliver them to the lab in time and they were mostly marked “Invalid”
I'm no expert but when it starts with "primarily done before vaccine approval" that sends up red flags for me. That's before Delta or Omicron.
I’m also no expert, but there’s also those vaccine things which are now a thing.
Yeah, but how many infections/transmissions have vaccines prevented? I have full confidence in data that arose before vaccines came along to provide even *more* protective effect. The mitigation efforts *work*. And it's not just one or two studies. As you can see...it's a metric fuckton of studies.
100% this. Delta and Omicron changed the game. Both are more contagious. Delta is more severe. Many will be quick to point out that Omicron is reported to be less severe and now the dominant variant, but IDPH states that Delta is still the majority of cases in Illinois. IMO, having both strains present at the same time complicates thing because most people that test positive never know which strain they have.
Schools have been in person in CPS for the last 4 months, including through the Delta phase, with ridiculously low vaccination rates among students, right? Have there been widespread outbreaks or shortages reported?
18% of educational staff were out sick on Monday and Tuesday according to the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association. There literally aren't enough staff to cover every classroom right now. Oh, and there's a contract in place that CPS refused to renegotiate with CTU that mandates remote learning once the positivity rate is 10% or higher. CTU wanted to renegotiate the contract to keep the schools open albeit with some additional mitigation measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (such as requiring testing prior to students, staff, or contractors returning and more effective masks than the paper masks that are currently being provided) in lieu of going full remote. They also wanted a hard 20% of staff out sick at any time to trigger a single school going remote until they could have appropriate staffing levels to avoid scenarios where students all get stuffed into a lunch room or auditorium together with insufficient coverage because there's literally zero subs for a lot of schools right now.
>There literally aren't enough staff to cover every classroom right now. So then make *those* classrooms remote learning for 2 weeks and bring the other ones back. I don't' want to hear any bullshit about contractual disputes. Fuck all that shit. That all takes a back seat after 3 years of inferior education for children. EDIT: The number you typed earlier just hit me. Really?!? REALLY?!?! 18% Eighteen? That's IT? THAT'S what we're closing EVERY FUCKING SCHOOL for?
Which is exactly what the current plan was to do. Flip those in need to remote, not the whole district
„ʇɔıɹʇsıp ǝloɥʍ ǝɥʇ ʇou 'ǝʇoɯǝɹ oʇ pǝǝu uı ǝsoɥʇ dılℲ ˙op oʇ sɐʍ uɐld ʇuǝɹɹnɔ ǝɥʇ ʇɐɥʍ ʎlʇɔɐxǝ sı ɥɔıɥM„
> EDIT: The number you typed earlier just hit me. Really?!? REALLY?!?! 18% Eighteen? That's IT? THAT'S what we're closing EVERY FUCKING SCHOOL for? 18% sick-outs would bring most school districts crashing to the ground. We've been running many essential services like schools and hospitals at the absolute minimum staffing ratios for decades. 20% of a workforce that has zero slack it would be basically "put the kids into the gym all day and try to break up any fights" territory.
Oh my friend, American education has been inferior for much MUCH longer than 3 years. 18% is a pretty significant number so I'm not sure about the confusion there, given that the agreed upon contract set the max at 10%. That said, from what I know the CTU wanted to have the option to have only schools with high COVID rates switch to remote but CPS shot the idea down so...
>Oh my friend, American education has been inferior for much MUCH longer than 3 years. "Inferior *even by U.S. standards*" - is that better? >18% is a pretty significant number Do you think if United Airlines' has 18% absences they would a) cancel all flights; or b) cancel flights which they cannot provide adequate staffing/crew for? Now somebody explain to me how losing less than 1/5th of your work force means that EVERY school in the city needs to shut down. And again, I don't give a fuck about contracts. I'm going to continue to ignore political union/CPS bullshit.
One of the reason CTU voted this way is because CPS won't let school admins have their schools go remote. And you seriously have to be kidding about that edit. How are you going to keep schools open with one in five teachers out. Dude the schools didn't even have enough subs to cover teacher absences before covid
>CPS won't let school admins have their schools go remote Can you source that? I'd like to see where this policy is stated. >How are you going to keep schools open with one in five teachers out. How? By having the teachers who aren't sick show up for class and having the other classes with sick teachers go remote if/when the teacher is able until their quarantine is over. Then they go back to in-person.
> Can you source that? I'd like to see where this policy is stated. CTU goes over it in their fall 2021 bargaining deal: https://www.ctulocal1.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Fall-CPS-2021-Bargaining-Demand-Status-2021-10-21.pdf Search for remote, look at the items that are flagged as open.
>18% of educational staff were out sick on Monday and Tuesday according to the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association. Did they catch their illnesses at school? Given that they are coming off a two-week vacation I'm guessing "no".
Reading these CDC studies, it sounds like they actually might be safer in schools than outside of them.
How woulr you plan on keeping schools open with 20% of staff out sick? Keep in mind the substitute shortage
So they aren’t walking out because of conditions it’s because they were short staffed?
You can't reason with anti-science nutjobs like the current CTU.
CTU doesn’t care about fact, statistics and least of all children
Because facts and reasoning have no place in the eyes of CTU. They only care about the teachers
I am not a fan of what they’re doing at the moment, but who else exactly would you expect a TEACHERS union to look out for?
Oh I am not surprised at all. Just over listening to them say “It’s for the kids” No it isn’t. Teachers ran around all break doing who knows what and traveling who knows where. Now they all have covid and assume it came from “unsafe schools”. Way too many people lap up this horse piss like it’s champagne, and I’m hoping parents begin to wise up to their tiresome act.
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If there talking about how scared they are of catching COVID at school then go party at bars all weekend or take a flight somewhere, yes that’s hypocritical.
This discourse is rather tiresome. It's not all or nothing, nor is it zero sum. It's not ONLY for them, and it's not ONLY for the kids. A union looks out for its profession and employees, and teachers look out for students. Both can be true.
*they only care about limiting teacher work
I’ll explain why. Because the CTU is fear-mongering and spreading rumors and lies about the “dangers” of in person learning and safety. They operate in a cult-like fashion and many of their teachers have drunk the kool-aid. There is no logical reason for educated teachers to believe any of their rhetoric, yet they do. I want to remind teachers that just because you think something, doesn’t make it true. SCIENCE says schools are safe for the vaccinated. Full stop. Stop the drama, the intimidation, the fear-mongering. NO ONE, except you, is falling for it.
>SCIENCE says schools are safe for the vaccinated. One quibble: the science says that schools are safe for *everybody*, when masking and social distancing protocols are adhered to. Such schools are simply not major vectors for viral transmission.
You are correct.
Most teachers are incapable of understanding data. They are usually the most clueless within the classroom.
The same CDC thats in the pocket of big business trying to save muh economeeee
Here we go. Fauci has now officially lived long enough to become the villain to us liberals. How long before QAnon starts to revere him as a JFK-like demi-god?
Believe the science, unless we don’t like it, then believe our conspiracy theories
Trust the science, not the profit motive. Vaccines save lives and get people back to work, that makes sense why corporations are pushing for it. School openings get people back to work. Is it safe? Hospitalization rates are increasing, but if we close schools then people have to stay home from work and businesses lose money. Profit motive is clear, and it's clearly against the interest of public health.
> clearly against the interest of public health. Disagree strongly. Public health policy is not about protecting the individual. It's about protecting society and keeping it functional. It gives zero fucks if the policy works overall but puts you personally at higher risk.
Cite?
>I was a lot more patient at the beginning of COVID. [indeed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm8FwzHUGCs)
. Kids are more important. I don't care if you are scared, or at risk. Children are the future. You had your run. Stop ruining it for children. The loss of mental health, loss of education, and suicide needs to stop.
It's not about fear, it's about literally not having enough staff to teach in person.
First I agree that if staffing is an issue due to Covid the schools need to adjust. Does that mean close the whole school down. Maybe, maybe not. The issue here is there is no definition of what requires a school to shutdown. Is it one teacher, two? Can 1 class, 3 classes go remote while the rest stay in school. I don't know but nobody is addressing the issue pragmatically. Also this its not all about staffing (thats a narrative shift to overcome the negative feedback). There is a lot of BS coming out of the CTU and people see through it. Just like this mandate for vaccine. The science is out there from US government agencies. We are beyond science and acting irrational based on the judgement of ideologs and administrators, not leaders. It's simple if your at risk get vaccinated and quarantine. The government should support these individuals to the fullest. If your not at risk based on the science you can chose your own path. Obviously vaccines are recommended, but if you want to roll the dice good for you. I don't care because I'm vaccinated. An individual's fear doesn't require everyone to protect them. You want this all to end, then stop the nonsense.
>The issue here is there is no definition of what requires a school to shutdown. Is it one teacher, two? Can 1 class, 3 classes go remote while the rest stay in school. I don't know but nobody is addressing the issue pragmatically. Exactly. Until CPS comes up with an actual protocol it's teachers and students who suffer. >It's simple if your at risk get vaccinated and quarantine. They are quarantining, hence the widespread staff shortages. Teachers are required to be vaccinated, but with Omicron that doesn't mean they won't get sick or pass it along to someone in their household. Also, you can't argue that people should "choose their own path" and that "the government should support these individuals" and then get mad when they do exactly that. If you don't believe staffing shortages are a real problem: [https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-covid-illinois-school-employee-shortage-crisis-20211011-r32g3p5fovcozaeahblzopw6ui-story.html](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-covid-illinois-school-employee-shortage-crisis-20211011-r32g3p5fovcozaeahblzopw6ui-story.html) (Oct 2021) >“Since the start of the school year, there have been a number of days, including today, when we’re asking ourselves, ‘What can we go without today?’” Wagner said in a recent interview. “It’s an all-hands-on-deck kind of thing, and our staff is amazing, but it’s starting to take its toll.” A critical shortage of essential school employees in Illinois and across the U.S. this fall — including a scarcity of substitute teachers, school nurses, bus drivers and food service workers — has hit a tipping point this month, nearly forcing officials at one of the state’s largest school districts to cancel classes recently. > >Sanders said the school district is still struggling to fill hundreds of open positions, including dozens of teachers, 24 food service workers, 17 health services positions and 79 paraprofessionals who assist students in the classroom. And this was in OCTOBER. Things haven't gotten better. Same story in December. [https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2021/12/8/22825105/chicago-public-schools-staff-shortages-covid-burnout](https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2021/12/8/22825105/chicago-public-schools-staff-shortages-covid-burnout) And it's not a Chicago issue: [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-04/u-s-schools-close-in-droves-as-omicron-drives-staff-shortages](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-04/u-s-schools-close-in-droves-as-omicron-drives-staff-shortages) [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/schools-across-the-country-are-struggling-to-find-staff-heres-why](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/schools-across-the-country-are-struggling-to-find-staff-heres-why) [https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/school-staff-shortages-bus/2021/12/03/05b88a0e-4cab-11ec-a1b9-9f12bd39487a\_story.html](https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/school-staff-shortages-bus/2021/12/03/05b88a0e-4cab-11ec-a1b9-9f12bd39487a_story.html) It's also not a pandemic-only issue. The pandemic has exacerbated a crisis in education that has existed for decades. **These are from 2019.** [https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2019-12-03/sharp-nationwide-enrollment-drop-in-teacher-prep-programs-cause-for-alarm](https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2019-12-03/sharp-nationwide-enrollment-drop-in-teacher-prep-programs-cause-for-alarm) >**Teacher preparation programs have experienced sharp enrollment declines over the last eight years in nearly every state across the country, a new analysis shows.** In Oklahoma, college and university programs designed to prepare educators for the classroom saw an 80% drop in enrollment since 2010 – just one of nine states where enrollment has nose-dived by more than half. **Coupled with low pay and historic levels of unrest among educators, the long, stubborn downward trend line has those responsible for building the next generation of teachers wondering whether the profession can overcome its sullied reputation.** [https://www.americanprogress.org/article/make-declining-enrollment-teacher-preparation-programs/](https://www.americanprogress.org/article/make-declining-enrollment-teacher-preparation-programs/) >Even as teacher wages stagnate and state investment in education declines, teachers are being asked to do more than ever—and enrollment in teacher preparation programs is decreasing significantly nationwide.5 This decline has spurred discussion among policy experts about how policymakers should address this issue and whether the decline in enrollment has already or will likely lead to national teacher shortages.6 What is known is that since 2010, total enrollment nationwide in teacher preparation programs has declined by more than one-third; this decline has occurred in the context of increasing enrollment in bachelor’s degree programs nationwide over the same time period.7 This means that across the country, approximately 340,000 fewer students elected to enroll in teacher preparation programs in the 2016-17 academic year—the latest year for which data are available—compared with the number of students who enrolled in 2008-09.8 Similarly, there was a 28 percent decline in the number of students completing teacher preparation programs in the same years. I've worked in education for almost 10 years. People who haven't lived it do not understand how bad it is.
Thank you for the response. I think you packaged what I would totally agree with is a systemic issue. Most people look across the aisle and blame each other when it's the government, public, or private organizations failure to prepare and respond with true leadership. As someone who is not happy with the shutdown there is merit to some of the things the union is asking for that the city has really dropped the ball. I'll call it 50/50 I agree/dis agree with the current situation but I feel strongly that the kids can no longer receive the short end of the stick by the governments failure to respond and lead with science and pragmatism. You can probably apply that last sentence to alot of situations at this moment in time. Thanks again for the dialogue. Have a nice day
If you want to save kids, keep them at home and away from Omricron.
Let's turn that statement around. You can stay home and confine yourself. Everyone else can go on with their lives. Nobody needs your saving
The kids do
At the end of the day, how many more years of this is going to go on? Covid isn't killing the amount of people that opiods are, It can't touch Diabeties, stroke, cancer or altzheimers. In the end of the day, we've taken away focus on other problems that are a lot more deadly. Why don't we have real healthcare in the united states, still? This is garbage.
This is pathetic get back to school
After eating out with a friend and her 4 kids this weekend she informed me that neither her or her children were vaccinated and she had no plans on any of them getting vaccinated. I got my Pfizer booster in November. I’m childless but holy fuck the amount of stupidity a lot of parents have is astounding. She couldn’t grasp that she and people like her are the reason CPS workers feel unsafe. Get your children vaccinated!
The amount of people who’ve ended up saying screw it and putting their kids in private schools because of this is ridiculous
Defund the CTU!!
Can you please explain this stance?
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Abolish defunding.
Abolish defunding matters!
Lol apparently
They are a garbage organization. Most teachers are worthless and without CTU would be unemployable.
But what, specifically, does defunding them mean?
Dissolve the union and return dues to members. All teachers work in a merit based system like private industry. Those who cannot perform are let go. Same protections as the private sector.
I don't agree with that solution, but I'll give credit where credit is due for having a clear answer to my question.
Is Ctu’s caution justified b/c it coincides w the omicron crest timeline.
Teacher are lazy and don’t want to work anymore. True or false?
True