:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/3CMQAEAKMVA2ZJ6OGJYBODVL5I.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/KAQMLPJWONBFTH4DFOWZFCZAJE.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/B7LDXXATUZBABFOTKYYHDGZGLM.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/YB57XBOSUBD3HLCEBFUX3ALCKQ.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/HITNM57AIZAEPEFMVIN3RCVTUA.jpg)
Chicago Public Schools students returned to classrooms Monday after a shorter-than-usual summer. The start date is one of the earliest in modern memory as the nation’s third-largest school district embarks on a “recovery year” following several COVID-19 disruptions.
“Even though we still have some challenges — COVID is still with us, it’s a tight labor market,” CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said Monday at a news conference at Excel Academy of South Shore, “when you go to our schools, you can feel just a difference, you can feel a sense of excitement, a sense of hope.”
The pandemic is still top of mind for many employees, parents and students. Around 125 adults and a dozen students have reported testing positive for COVID-19 since Thursday, according to CPS’ online data tracker. Those who test positive for the virus are directed to stay home for five days, no matter their vaccination status.
CPS is facing other challenges besides COVID-19, including a national shortage of bus drivers and teachers. Several parents have taken to social media to complain about the length of their child’s bus route or that their child hasn’t been routed at all. Because the bus driver shortage turned into a fiasco last year, CPS said it focused on prioritizing diverse learner students whose education plans require transportation and homeless students.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/A5BJ3BY3NJF2FKJ5LEJQMUE24I.jpg)
Kalaveeta Mitchell said her 17-year-old daughter was unable to start her senior year Monday. Mitchell said she found out last minute that a coding error was made to her daughter’s education plan, which meant she didn’t receive automatic transportation even though that’s in her plan. Mitchell said she couldn’t get her daughter, who has autism and post-traumatic stress disorder, to her Lakeview high school from their Bronzeville home.
CPS is offering families of diverse learners $500 a month if they find alternate transportation and has promised to pay $25 a day if the stipend is not accepted and the student isn’t routed.
“It’s sad that CPS believes that they can throw money at the situation by offering parents a reimbursement or a check,” Mitchell said. “They are known for not paying bills on time.”
Martinez said Monday the district has raised starting hourly pay to $20 to $25 to keep bus drivers from going to the suburbs. He said more than 15,600 students have been routed, with over 80% of the routes less than an hour long. He said he is personally evaluating the 2% to 3% of routes he deemed to be “very, very long.”
The district has also been affected by the national teacher shortage. Martinez said the vacancy rate is hovering around 4%. CPS has about 22,000 teaching positions, of which 900 are still left to fill, with Martinez promising more hiring throughout the year.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/NBA2CQXMEZFA7A3CWAACP2P5QE.jpg)
This is the first time a CPS school year has begun with Martinez in the top job.
He said: “I know that we’re getting a lot of questions about some of the challenges we have, but I’ll just share with you — overall, our staff is working around the clock to make sure buildings are ready. We’re starting the year with a higher number of staff at all levels, especially teachers, compared to last year. And this is the first day. So the work is going to continue.”
At Back of the Yards College Preparatory High School early Monday, a group of CPS Safe Passage workers wearing neon yellow vests convened for a moment before going to their respective posts. Uniformed students slowly trickled to school grounds, sharing fist bumps and quiet conversation as the sun rose in the sky.
Jenny Urbina walked her daughter into the South Side high school for the start of her freshman year. The earlier back-to-school date this year has made things “a little hectic,” but she said students need something to get their minds off the pandemic.
“(My daughter) was nervous, because she’s a first year here. So just having those conversations with her and just say, you know, ‘This is your first year here. So this determines your future — you’re not in grammar school anymore,’” she said.
She added that she was nervous about all the students being back together with COVID-19 still going around. Though her daughter is vaccinated, she still asks her to wear a mask. Though she has some concerns, in looking ahead to the school year, she doesn’t have any big frustrations, she said.
“I think so far, we’re just taking it day by day,” she said. “And just making sure you know, that we follow every protocol that we have, or just speak to the teachers more and just be there for the kids more. I feel like we as parents have to take the initiative to come into the school and if you have any concern, just go ahead.”
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/QIRXOZQRWBB75BZYTKS7W3AZKA.jpg)
The district has relaxed some of its COVID-19 protocols based on new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. New this year, unvaccinated students and staff members who come in close contact with an infected person are no longer required to stay home for five days. Instead, they are asked to wear masks for 10 days after exposure. Masks are optional across the district, except in certain situations, such as the five days after a person who was infected returns to school.
The Chicago Teachers Union is slated to vote soon on a new COVID-19 safety agreement for the upcoming school year. The last one was reached in January to end a standoff that caused classes to be canceled for five days amid a rise in coronavirus cases. Members of CTU — which has a new president, Stacy Davis Gates — talked of the new year providing a “fresh start” with the district.
At a news conference Monday outside Back of the Yards High, CTU drew attention to large class sizes and staff member vacancies.
“You’re going to see class sizes inching upwards to 30, 35. Students can’t be their best selves and teachers certainly can’t under those conditions, so we’re hopeful for this school year. And we are demanding that we fill some of these critical vacancies in bilingual ed, in special education,” CTU Vice President Jackson Potter said. “Students are taking 90 minutes per way on the busing routes this year. That’s a lot. We need to pay bus drivers more to alleviate those routes. We’re here and hopeful that we can address some of these concerns in a more productive way this year.”
Back of the Yards High music teacher Felix Ponce said much of his focus last year was making sure there were enough instruments for his students. He expressed optimism the situation has improved for this year.
“(I’m) a little bit nervous today as I’m coming back — positive, though — and I’m hopeful that the district will definitely move diligently to fill a lot of these vacancies and then continue providing funding so we can have equitable education across the district,” Ponce said.
Over at Lindblom Math and Science Academy, a line of students wrapped around the building and its imposing columns as they awaited security checks at the entrance. Kathy Kidd — a Lindblom alumna — dropped off her son for the start of his senior year. He is still wearing a mask and participating in optional COVID-19 testing, she said.
“He wears a mask in the car with me,” she added. “He wears his mask all the time.”
CPS is continuing its weekly, in-school testing program. More than 90,000 students signed up for the free initiative last year. Everyone is required to fill out a new consent form to participate this year. More than 6,700 students have already signed up, according to CPS data.
Kidd’s son normally takes the bus to school, she said, but “they did send an email saying, ‘I’m sorry, service may be a little iffy.’ And I like to bring (him) on the first day of school.”
Kidd’s main concerns have to do with her son graduating on time with a good grade-point average, and applying to colleges this fall.
“And we want to apply to everything — going to apply to Chicago schools, Illinois schools, out-of-state schools, HBCUs, Big Ten.”
In the Belmont Cragin neighborhood, Martina Barrientos dropped off her grandson for his first day of third grade at Mary Lyon Elementary School, where she worked in the kitchen for 17 years.
For Barrientos, the summer break didn’t feel too short. “I’m used to going back a week earlier,” she said.
Starting classes earlier gives the students a chance to “catch up. ... It helps them in their school development,” Barrientos said.
Her grandson has no one else to spend time with at home, so he’d been looking forward to the first day of school. Though she holds the school close to her heart — “It’s a good school,” she said — it was time to leave her job to spend more time at home caring for her grandson. Last week, she made sure to wake him up earlier than usual to start getting used to it.
When she first arrived at the school, its enrollment was predominantly white, she recalled, but over the years it has turned majority Latino.
On Monday morning, Principal Cliff Gabor walked around the grounds, welcoming students and saluting parents and grandparents.
”Thank you for being here,” he told Barrientos and a Lyon mother she was chatting with.
For Rosa Perez, a mother of four who walked her youngest son to school Monday, summer break was “way too short.”
Perez said her family had to cut their vacation short due to the earlier start to classes this year. But most importantly, it pained her to see her son frustrated at a shorter break.
Afternoon Briefing
”Since I can remember, school always started after Labor Day,” Perez said. “I hope they change it back to normal.”
Both Perez and Barrientos said they felt comfortable sending their children to school now that COVID-19 safety protocols have lessened.
”My son didn’t like wearing the face mask all day long,” Perez said. “I hope there are no breakouts, but we will leave that in God’s hands, and hopefully all the children will remain healthy.”