The Chicago Teachers Union has confirmed that its 25,000 members would not return to their classrooms Thursday after months of negotiation failed to resolve disputes over pay and benefits, class size and teacher preparation time.
Chicago parents and community groups are scrambling to prepare for a massive teachers’ strike set to begin Thursday, prompting the city to preemptively cancel classes in the nation’s third-largest school district.
During the 2012 strike, the district kept some schools open for half days during a seven-day walkout. District officials said this time they will keep all buildings open during school hours, staffed by principals and employees who usually work in administrative roles.Breakfast and lunch will be served, but all after-school activities and school buses are suspended in the district serving more than 300,000 students.
Janice Jackson, the district’s CEO, said this week that more than 80% of families with students in Chicago’s public schools are considered low-income. A clearly frustrated Lightfoot said the city has offered a 16% pay raise over the five-year contract, and has also agreed to include language that addresses “enforceable targets” on class size and increasing staffing levels for positions such as nurses, librarians and social workers — items the union said were critical.“Without question, the deal we put on the table is the best in the Chicago Teachers union history,” said Lightfoot.
“The union is still demanding to shorten instructional time by 30 minutes in the morning,” she said. “We won’t do that. We will not cheat our children out of instructional time.” Community organizations have been preparing for days to welcome students, ranging from a $100 per day camp for elementary school kids at the Shedd Aquarium to all-day programs run by the Boys & Girls Club of Chicago and accessible for a $20 annual membership fee.
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