Chicago City Wire

Sources from within the Chicago Public Schools tell Chicago City Wire the system is already preparing to keep its high schools closed in the fall, as teachers union officials express fear of members encountering students in hallways and lunchrooms.

The sources said Chicago Teachers Union leaders are open to a two-day-a-week hybrid schedule in January 2022 after Christmas break. But that's only if all high school students over age 16 are vaccinated.

"It doesn't matter what Mayor Lightfoot says. The union is in charge here. Teachers don't want to come back," the source said.

Elementary school students were able to return to in-person learning this week.

CPS CEO Janice Jackson said earlier this week that she wanted high school students to return by the end of the year, ABC7 reported.

"There are some schools where everybody could come back because they are underutilized, but there are larger schools where it's going to be more difficult," Jackson said.

Right now, only 30 percent of the school district's students are being sent to in-person school and it's still a hybrid learning model -- students aren't in school full-time for in-person learning.

"Everybody wanted the same thing," Jackson told CNN. "Our teachers, principals, parents -- they want their kids in school, they want them to get a great education, but they want it to be safe."

The Chicago Teachers Union has fought the city every step of the way on reopening schools for in-person learning.

Grades 6 through 8 will return for in-person learning next week.

A Chicago Public Schools high school parent expressed exasperation with the situation.

"It's devastating as a parent to know we have another year or more of this," she said. "Even worse -- these kids don't even want to go to high school anymore. They prefer staying home, sleeping in, and taking tests with their notes by their side."