In Chicago, @ChiPubSchools continues to insist it is following CDC guidelines, and links to the chart through their website. So a group of us decided to take a look at those core indicators related to risk of transmission in schools. 1/

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/community/schools-childcare/indicators-thresholds-table.pdf

We hear from @ChiPublicHealth about daily and weekly averages, but the CDC Core Indicator 1 is "Number of new cases per 100,000 persons within the last 14 days." Using the Chicago COVID dashboard, you can select new cases in that 14 day range. 2/

Source: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/covid-19/home/covid-dashboard.html

Using the population snapshot from the City of Chicago site, it seems that in each 14 day span in January that Chicago is still well above the >200 new cases per 100,000 threshold for the highest risk of transmission in schools, in the red. 3/

Source: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/about/facts.html

The good news is the 14-day indicator appears to be trending downward. If that trend holds, we would still need at LEAST another 2 weeks to get out of the highest risk level of transmission in schools. And Illinois just entered Phase 1b so teachers can *start* to get vaccines. 4/

Given the CDC core indicator trend and the Phase 1b timeline, WHY has @ChiPubSchools refused to budge from the arbitrary date of Feb. 1st for in-person return for K-8? It's not even the end of the quarter - Q3 starts on Feb. 8th! Teachers need more time to be safe. @CTULocal1 5/

So @ChiPubSchools, as CPS parents PLEASE give us a logical reason why you won't move Feb. 1st. I have seen no justification for this date specifically. Even 2-3 more weeks would help save lives. Listen to your teachers and staff. #SafeReturnOrNoReturn 6/6 https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-chicago-teachers-union-cps-update-covid-19-20210125-r2zqcdycq5cfxoxqnkvj2eoaxu-story.html

(Note: Please feel free to check the math on the 14-day CDC core indicator numbers in Chicago. This is the concerning trend we saw and would love for others to dig into this, too!) Why send kids back when it is still the highest risk for transmission in schools? #MakeItMakeSense