The Chicago Teachers Union is poised to vote Tuesday on whether its members should defy city leadership and shut down schools by temporarily going back to working remotely, as teachers unions across the country butt heads with officials on how and whether to have in-person learning amid a surge in Covid-19 cases from the omicron variant.3,229. That’s the number of public schools that will be closed at some point this week as of Monday evening—whether because of Covid-19 or other circumstances like winter weather—according to a tracker compiled by data company Burbio. That includes schools in such cities as Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee and Newark, New Jersey, which were forced to close schools temporarily due to Covid-19 surges.“The layers of mitigation we need to keep our schools open and to keep our students inside of the school buildings have not happened,” Gates told CNN, necessitating Tuesday’s vote to go remote. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten told the Washington Post the national union’s official position is that schools should remain open for in person learning if possible, though in a statement to Forbes the union leader noted while that’s what’s “best for students academically, and for their mental health…the reality of omicron is that it spreads quickly, and we’re likely to see some temporary reactive closures in the coming weeks.” “This makes regular testing – including a test to leave isolation – as well as well-fitting masks, ventilations and of course, vaccines and boosters, all the more important,” Weingarten said. The omicron variant surge has led to high anxiety about how to best handle in person schooling, particularly as many children are unvaccinated and child hospitalizations for Covid-19 are hitting record levels. Officials have been insistent on keeping schools open given the negative impact of remote learning on children, with President Joe Biden saying in December the U. S. “can keep our K-through-12 schools open, and that’s exactly what we should be doing.” Federal health officials have also implemented “test-to-stay” guidance that allows children exposed to Covid-19 to stay in school provided they test negative—though schools, like other industries, have also been affected by staffing shortages as more teachers and employees test positive for the virus. In face of omicron surge, schools push ahead with in-person classes (Washington Post)‘It’s Chaos’ as Schools Confront Omicron (New York Times)Some U. S. schools switch to remote learning, delay start of classes as omicron surge disrupts return from winter break (NBC News)Full coverage and live updates on the Coronavirus
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