We got this "anonymous" message from my kids' schools teachers routed via the room parents. For reference on the numbers, my kids go to a smallish K-8 school with 2 classes per grade, probably 25 students per class on average.
Hello Everyone! Since CPS has locked our teachers and staff out of their accounts they are unable to contact the community and share information.
An anonymous source has asked me to share this collective statement and I ask that you share it with your classroom lists if possible, friends, etc.
Dear XXXX School Community,
We have always strived to work alongside our families to create an educational experience that prepares our students to be compassionate, lifelong citizens of the world within the walls of our IB world school. We are disappointed and disheartened by the events of the last few days, as we want nothing more than to be with our students and to serve our school community.
Our decision to temporarily move to remote teaching is based on the reality of how our school has functioned in the midst of this pandemic with the limited resources the district has provided us. Despite all efforts our administration, our staff, our PPC, and our school Safety Committee have made to address the lack of resources this year, we were left with no choice but to support the shift to remote instruction. We now find ourselves locked out of our Google Classrooms and emails, but will continue to work and collaborate on with one another to plan for student instruction until an agreement is reached between CPS and the CTU.
We urge you to consider the reality of operating XXXX school under the existing conditions:
● Since the beginning of the school year, we’ve had over 18 teachers and staff contract Covid-19. 15 staff members contracted Covid in the month of December alone.
● In the week prior to winter break, we had 4 classrooms in quarantine and 5 staff members out due to Covid.
● In the first two days after our return from break, we had over 10 staff absences due to Covid and 2 classrooms were required to quarantine after positive exposures.
● On January 3rd and 4th, student attendance in the majority of our classrooms was at ~50% due to students in quarantine. On these days, classroom teachers supported students in front of them but also tried to meet the needs of students who stayed home for various reasons, including: responding to parent emails, creating asynchronous assignments, and in some cases providing remote instruction.
● Due to the district’s substitute shortage, both administrators, our case manager, IB coordinator, school counselor, and Diverse Learner teachers have been in classrooms to cover staff absences, therefore resulting in many essential services and responsibilities not being performed.
● Only 26% of XXXX students have opted in to weekly Covid testing and ~30% of eligible students have been vaccinated.
● Chicago’s daily positivity rate as of November 30th, 2021 was 4.0%. As of January 1st, 2022, the daily positivity rate is 23%. In our initial safety agreement with CPS, it stated that if the positivity rate reached 10% or higher, we would shift to remote instruction. We urge the Board of Education to recognize this metric agreed upon last year and to commit to supporting remote instruction when there is widespread transmission of Covid in our school community.
Through a joint agreement between the CTU and CPS, we hope for basic measures to be reinstated so that students can learn in a safe environment. These measures include:
● Increased testing
● Daily temperature checks and health screeners upon entry
● KN-95 Masks for both staff AND students
● Concrete metrics to determine whether schools or the district should conduct remote learning
We want to reiterate that despite the tireless work of our school administration, teachers, and staff to minimize the spread of Covid-19 and to ensure a safe learning environment for students, we believe the temporary shift to remote learning for our school community will ensure all students and staff can safely navigate this peak in our city. We also stand with our fellow CPS educators who work in school communities devastated by Covid and hope with a safety agreement, we can safely return to in-person learning. We thank you for your ongoing support.
XXXX Teachers and Staff
