Chicago Schools to Resume In-Person Classes Starting Wednesday

On Monday, the Chicago Teachers Union approved an agreement with the district regarding COVID-19 safeguards, allowing classes to resume on Wednesday.

The two sides had been embroiled in a heated conflict that had forced the nation’s third-largest district to close schools for four days.

The deal’s details were not immediately available, as it still needs to be approved by all of the union’s 25,000 members.

“We know this has been very difficult for students and families,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said at Monday night’s press conference. “No one wins when students are out.”

Windy City schools have been closed since last Wednesday when teachers were told not to show up in person as negotiations continued.

The tumultuous debate touched on the topic of closing schools during outbreaks and extending the COVID-19 testing.

Officials from the district have maintained that schools are secure and that returning to remote-only schooling would be harmful to students and their parents.

This is the district’s fourth day of no school since the standoff began over the weekend.

Since then, Lightfoot has criticized the union for its decision that led to school closures.

“They abandoned their posts and they abandoned kids and their families,” Lightfoot said on Sunday.

In response, Chicago Teachers Union president Jesse Sharkey called Lightfoot “relentlessly stupid,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

In Chicago public schools, there are approximately 350,000 students.