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I am honestly still reeling from that press conference. Seeing my boss call me and my colleagues failures on Friday at 9:30pm is surreal. But instead of coming with vitriol, I just want to calmly, tiredly reiterate a few things:
1. CPS has paraded a slew of experts to say that opening schools safely is possible. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: I AGREE! What experts also say, though, is that reopening is safe if and only if protocols are met.
Kids across pods will be eating unmasked in one cafeteria with no air filter. I still don’t know if the windows in my classroom will stay open on their own. There are stories like this across the district — one reason why the union is pushing for safety committees at a school lvl
2. CPS has so far not addressed the fact that a majority of families have chosen to stay remote. Even for kids who choose hybrid: they will learn 3 days a week on a computer. Why force all PK-8 staff back into bldgs? Why not get creative, offer differentiated approach?
Students & parents had no say in this plan. They (& our Ed beat reporters) have been trying to ask questions about the lack of investment in remote edu, to no avail. CPS says it wants to give families a choice, but won’t actually flesh out options.
3. The term equity is being thrown around so much that it’s losing its meaning. But let’s take a moment to understand that CPS said this plan is in the name of equity. Once they realized that the majority of Black & brown students are staying remote...
...why did they not address their concerns? Invest in making remote learning better? Pivot to something more creative? Involve sts & fams in crafting a more responsive plan? So many folks cry out about equity these days without actually listening sts & fams! That isn’t equity!
Equity involves listening to folks on the ground and working in partnership. It does not mean forcing your vision — esp one that seeks to maintain a status quo — on others.
4. I reserve the deepest wells of my anger for our failed pandemic response at a national level, and for the defunding of public education over many years. CPS is in an impossible position. There is not enough money or personnel to make this work.
I’m angry at CPS b/c instead of admitting they don’t have resources to do this safely (see: LA, Philly), they dug in. At a time when we could have been brave & creative & found some different solutions, we’ve doubled down on something untenable.
So many people are framing this as “teachers don’t want to go back.” It’s not true. We want to go back SAFELY, with buy-in from our students and their families. And we don’t want a family’s choice (hybrid or remote) to affect the quality of their child’s edu.
Like I said, I’m tired. I may delete this later. Just needed to get some thoughts out there for a bit. Take care of yourself and your community, y’all.
