CHICAGO (AP) 鈥� Students are poised to return to Chicago Public Schools after leaders of the teachers union approved a plan with the nation's third-largest district late Monday over COVID-19 safety protocols, ending a bitter standoff that canceled classes for five days.
While school districts nationwide skyrocketing COVID-19 cases, the labor fight in union-friendly Chicago amplified concerns over remote learning and other pandemic issues.
The deal, which would have students in class Wednesday and teachers back a day earlier, still requires approval with a vote of the union鈥檚 roughly 25,000 members. have been metrics to close schools amid outbreaks and expanded COVID-19 testing.
Neither side immediately disclosed full details of the proposal Monday evening, but the district notified parents in the largely low-income Black and Latino school district of about 350,000 students that classes would resume Wednesday.
鈥淲e know this has been very difficult for students and families,鈥� Mayor Lori Lightfoot said at an evening news conference. 鈥淣o one wins when students are out of a place where they can learn the best and where they're safest."
In a dueling news conference, union leaders acknowledged it wasn't a 鈥渉ome run鈥� but teachers wanted to be back in class with students.
The Chicago Teachers Union's house of delegates voted Monday evening to suspend their work action from until a safety plan had been negotiated or the latest COVID-19 surge subsided. The district, which has rejected districtwide remote instruction, responded by locking teachers out of remote teaching systems two days after students .
While there has was some progress on smaller issues like masks, negotiations over the weekend on a safety plan failed to produce a deal and rhetoric about negotiations became increasingly sharp. Some principals canceled class Tuesday preemptively and warned of further closures throughout the week.
Earlier Monday, Union President Jesse Sharkey said the union and district remained 鈥渁part on a number of key features, accusing Lightfoot of refusing to compromise on teachers鈥� main priorities.
鈥淭he mayor is being relentless, but she鈥檚 being relentlessly stupid, she鈥檚 being relentlessly stubborn,鈥� Sharkey said, playing on a reference the former prosecutor mayor made about . 鈥淪he鈥檚 relentlessly refusing to seek accommodation and we鈥檙e trying to find a way to get people back in school.鈥�
Lightfoot accused teachers of 鈥渁bandoning鈥� students and shot back at the union president.
鈥淚f I had a dollar for every time some privileged, clouted white guy called me stupid, I'd be a bazillionaire,鈥� Lightfoot, who is Black,
By evening, she had said she was optimistic with the latest proposal, which went to union leaders for a vote.
Her first term in office has been marked by other battles with the influential union, which supported her opponent in the 2019 election, including a 2019
Developments in the fight, with pending complaints before a state labor board, made international headlines and attracted attention from the White House. Press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that President Joe Biden, who has pressed for schools to stay open, had remained in touch with Lightfoot and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker during negotiations.
Parents and advocacy groups also stepped up calls Monday for quicker action.
A group of parents on the city's West Side 鈥� near the intersection of largely Black and Latino neighborhoods 鈥� demanded students return immediately.
Cheri Warner, the mother of 15-year-old twins, said the sudden loss of in-person learning has taken a toll on her family.
One of her daughters has depression and anxiety, and winter is always difficult. Losing touch with her friends and teachers adds to that burden, Warner said.
The girls 鈥渕issed their whole eighth grade year and it felt like they weren鈥檛 really prepared for high school,鈥� Warner said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e all trying to figure out how to catch up and it鈥檚 a really stressful situation.鈥�
Other parents said the district needs to do more.
Angela Spencer, an organizer with the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization and a nurse, said she鈥檚 concerned about her two kids鈥� safety in schools. Spencer said her kids鈥� schools weren鈥檛 adequately cleaned before the pandemic and she has 鈥渘o confidence鈥� in the district鈥檚 protocols now.
Several families represented by the conservative Liberty Justice Center in Chicago, filed a lawsuit in Cook County over the closures, while more than 5,000 others signed a petition urging a return to in-person instruction.
District officials, who call the union action 鈥渁n illegal stoppage鈥� had kept buildings open for student meal pickup and said that schools with enough staff were allowed to open their doors to students. Some teachers showed up despite union directives; district officials estimated about 16% of teachers did so Monday.
Three schools, including Mount Greenwood Elementary, were able to offer instruction Monday, according to district officials. Parents at the largely white school on the city's southwest side expressed relief.
City officials argued that schools are safe with protocols in place. School leaders have touted a $100 million safety plan, including air purifiers in each classroom. Roughly 91% of staff are vaccinated and masks are required indoors.
Union officials have argued the safety measures fall short and the district has botched testing and a
There were small signs of agreement in recent days.
The district has purchased KN95 masks for students and teachers, agreed to bring back daily COVID-19 screening questions for anyone entering schools, and added more incentives for substitute teachers.
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This story has been corrected to show the mother of 15-year-old twins is called Cheri Warner, not Cherie.
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Associated Press writers Kathleen Foody in Chicago, and Rick Callahan in Indianapolis and photojournalist Charles Rex Arbogast contributed to this report. Follow Sophia Tareen on Twitter:
Sophia Tareen, The Associated Press
