Public school students in Chicago remained out of the classroom on Friday as the bitter standoff between the city’s teachers union and Mayor Lori Lightfoot dragged into a third day.
that “going into schools puts us at risk, puts our students and family at risk of contracting the coronavirus,” and is calling for CPS to implement more safety measures. CTU has dubbed the impasse the “#LoriLockout.”The particular dynamics of Chicago politics aside, though, the standoff looks like a lot of debates that are playing out across the United States as the country enters its third year of the pandemic. COVID has already put an enormous strain on students, parents, and educators.
than previous iterations of the coronavirus in adults and children alike, and vaccination has dramatically lowered the risk of severe COVID for most individuals who have received their shots and boosters. Thethat “more than half of district students 12 to 17 years old and nearly 12% of students 5 to 11 are fully vaccinated,” along with 91% of school staff.
As Arwady suggested, we are not living in the early days of the pandemic, despite varying levels of risk—and risk tolerance—among individuals. Moreover, the toll of remote learning on kids’ education and mental health has been coming into focus, and federal leaders have made a priority of keeping in-person learning. “The president has been very clear he wants these schools to be open,” White House Press SecretaryThursday, “including in Chicago.