CTU members vote to work remotely starting Wednesday if high school reopening agreement isn’t reached

Thousands of high school students are expected to return to the classroom next week for the first time in over a year. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times file photo

The Chicago Teachers Union is putting pressure on Chicago Public Schools to finalize a high school reopening agreement early this week.

With thousands of high school students expected to return to the classroom next week for the first time in over a year, the Chicago Teachers Union is putting pressure on Chicago Public Schools to finalize a reopening agreement early this week.

CTU members Sunday voted for high school teachers and staff to work remotely, starting Wednesday, if a reopening deal with Chicago Public Schools isn’t reached by then, multiple sources told the Chicago Sun-Times.

CPS officials have directed 5,350 high school teachers to return to buildings Monday with or without an agreement in preparation for about 26,000 students in grades 9-12 to resume in-person learning next week.

Teachers and staff are planning to honor that request and report in-person Monday and Tuesday while CPS and CTU officials work to solidify a final high school reopening agreement, sources said. That means that staff will be present when juniors at some high schools are scheduled to take the SAT in person Tuesday.

But if a deal isn’t struck by Wednesday, some high school teachers and staff will begin to work remotely.

There are still several unresolved matters the union is working to settle as the city once again sees an uptick in coronavirus cases. The four main issues at the center of the negotiations are student schedules, remote work for staff whose students aren’t in-person, work-from-home accommodations and addressing increasing virus transmission along with vaccination for students and families.

Another big concern surrounds large schools that have huge numbers of students planning to go back.

CPS has said the plan is for most high schools to have their in-person students in schools twice a week, with half attending Monday and Tuesday while the other group goes Thursday and Friday. Meanwhile, smaller schools and those where few students opted to return are expected to have students in-person four days per week.

CPS officials have set a target start date of April 19 for high school students. Last week, officials reiterated that was still the plan, adding they believe “safe in-person learning is possible right now.”

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