Chicago Public School teachers trying to teach students remotely were locked out of their digital classrooms on Wednesday, an apparent attempt by city officials to prevent a return to remote education.
A late night vote by rank-and-file members of the Chicago Teachers Union to pause in-person learning because of public health data led to the lock out.
The CTU voted in favor of the resolution, which accused the Chicago Board of Education of withholding data on the spread of covid-19 at schools, and of abandoning protocols to combat the spread of the virus among public school community members.
If the rate of infections spiked 15% higher than the week before, schools were required to transition to remote learning. The city's positivity rate is currently higher than it was a week before, according to union officials.
The teachers union said in a statement that they want to be in buildings with their students. Our children should be in classrooms. The results show that the Chicago Mayor and her team have yet to provide safety for the majority of schools.
CTU President Jesse Sharkey told reporters on Wednesday that the city had failed to deliver on basic demands for adequate staffing and covid-19 testing to address the health threat.
The CEO of Chicago Public Schools framed the decision by teachers as a refusal to report to work. He said that they want their children back in class as soon as possible, and that they will continue working with the CTU to reach an agreement that addresses their concerns.
340,000 students missed school on Wednesday because they couldn't attend classes in person or by computer. The teachers were locked out of the platform used by the city to conduct remote learning.
Cesar Rodriguez referred all questions to Chicago Public Schools. A person from the company told Gizmodo that they were working on the project and would get back to you as soon as possible.
The CTU did not immediately respond to the comment.
Dennis Kosuth, a Chicago school nurse who works with students who have a learning disability, as well as those with health issues like diabetes and attention deficit disorder, told Gizmodo by phone that he and other teachers had found various workarounds to continue their work on Wednesday.
Kosuth said that he had to work off memory because he had not been able to access any of his documents. We are able to meet with the parents remotely because anyone can open up a meet or call a parent and have a conversation with them.
I think it shows that parents can get their services remotely. Kosuth said that staff at Chicago's Virtual Academy, which caters specifically to students that require remote learning for medical reasons, had also been locked out of the system.
This disease affects a lot of people, and we want safe working conditions for ourselves as well. He said that they can provide these services remotely, if needed, during a spike in covid.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of children with confirmed cases of covid-19 has reached new record highs.
More than 670 children were hospitalized nationwide on a daily basis last week, according to the CDC.
