Chicago City Wire

Despite being directed by the school district, many teachers will not be returning to work this week amid safety concerns due to COVID-19.

The Chicago Teacher’s Union (CTU) said Sunday that while approximately 7,000 teachers were directed to return, they feared for their safety and likely would not. 

More than 30 aldermen said they were deeply concerned with the plan to re-open in-person learning in an email sent to Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Janice Jackson and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The aldermen want improved ventilation and filtration before schools reopen.

Alderman Brian Hopkins said filtration and ventilation are key factors that they’ve seen in both European schools and private schools that have made school reopening more successful.

"The CTU has not identified any area where the district's plan falls short of public health guidelines and … CTU's last-minute tactics are deeply disrespectful to the 77,000 mostly Black and Latino families who selected in-person learning,” a statement from CPS said, Fox 32 Chicago reported.

One teacher, Linda Perales, who teaches at Corkery Elementary School, said she wanted to continue teaching remotely because the way in-person learning was set up, she couldn’t teach her students properly.

"We know that K-2 cluster students can’t wear a face mask all day, they cannot social distance and that increases the transmission of COVID-19," Perales said, the news media reported. "They will have to wear a face mask all day. Teachers will have to wear a face mask all day, and that is so important to note because it’s going to make it impossible to teach letter sounds and other things like that."

Perales said in-person learning would also increase the risk of transmission within low-income families.

Jackson previously said that teachers who didn’t show up would be fired if they did not have a letter from their physician.