With Covid vaccines out, the return to any sense of "normalcy" draws closer. In Chicago, city officials and the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) have created a framework for Chicago Public Schools (CPS) returning to in-person learning in the coming weeks. However, the CTU emphasizes that the is not yet an official agreement. According to Mayor Lightfoot and other officials, it is safe for students and teachers to return to school so long as Covid safety mitigations are met. The proposed plan involves a phased return, starting with pre-K students and staff as soon as this week, followed by K-8 teachers, then students in March. Staff living in "medically vulnerable homes" are to be offered vaccination, with a hopeful 1,500 CPS employees receiving vaccinations per week. The plan also includes measures for returning the district back to fully online learning should things worsen.
I'm cautiously optimistic about this plan. Returning to in-person learning would be great (especially for these kids in elementary school), but safety still comes first. I'm honestly surprised that Chicago is expecting to get students back in school this week. To me, it feels like they're trying to move too fast, but if doctors are saying it's safe to return, that's better than nothing. Teachers' concern for their own safety is likely the biggest reason they haven't agreed to this plan just yet, and I think they're entitled to that. If the teachers don't feel safe returning to school, then they shouldn't have to.
1. What is your reaction to seeing that people may return to school this week? Is it good? Is it too soon?
2. Do you think there's any hope for our school to return to in-person learning this year (similar to this plan or not)? Would you rather play it safe and continue online learning through the rest of the school year?
I agree that while it's great to see kids returning to in-person learning, safety should always come first, so as long as the scientists (and not just school officials) deem it safe to return, then it is truly good news. I don't know how bad Covid is in Chicago, but it seems as though things are improving there, with the City of Chicago at 27% availability in their ICUs as of February 5. I think it's easy to say that we or others shouldn't go back to school until the rate of infection is very very low and the number of people who would become exposed by kids going to school would be very minimal; however, I think all of us know by now that that is simply unrealistic, which is why places like Chicago are pivoting and compromising. I think that for high schoolers, as much as it sucks that we're missing out, we should stay online, and only have elementary schools open up right now, if any, because they are at an age where they require regular social interaction to fully develop. So while sure, there's "hope" that we return to in-person learning this year, I think that really, our community should be prioritizing younger students and the teachers that work with them, first ensuring that those teachers are vaccinated, and then opening up from there.
ReplyDeleteYou make a really good point about how, if any schools are going to open, it should be the elementary schools. It's definitely really important for the younger kids to get social interaction as they're growing up (more important than us right now) and I hadn't thought about that. I think safety still comes first, though, and we should wait longer before sending anyone to school in person.
DeleteI definitely have conflicting feelings about Chicago's plan. I looked up some statistics, and Chicago is in the purple tier (over 7 new cases per day per 100K people), with 22 new cases per day, along with San Mateo, which has 48 new cases per day. It's hard to judge when it's "safe enough," but this still feels a little too early to be reopening schools, especially if teachers feel unsafe. However, if doctors think the plan will work, then that's great news. I agree with Lauren that we should prioritize reopening elementary schools, because younger kids are definitely learning less and missing out on more with online learning than we are. Even if Aragon returned to in-person learning, I would stay home because I think a hybrid model wouldn't be worth the risk.
ReplyDeleteI think that returning to school as early as this week for certain school districts in the country is too early, and that at least with regards to elementary schools, that all teachers should receive vaccinations before the schools resume in-person learning. I think that with California currently being in Phase 1B of the vaccination process, that we should keep learning online through the Spring semester. There is a long way to go in the vaccination process before it is available to everyone, so to mitigate risk, we should stay online until vaccination options open up for everyone (hopefully during the summer time or even earlier), and then return to school in-person in the fall!
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that we should stay online through the rest of the spring semester so that we can (hopefully) get back to in-person learning in the fall. I think it's better to stay safe right now so that we can get back to "normal" sooner, rather than risking even worse outbreaks by rushing the transition.
DeleteI agree that the safety of students and teachers should always be the top priority when creating plans to go back to school. I think that Chicago public schools may have gone back to school a little early for my comfort level, but I trust the doctors and scientists who say it's ok. For our county, I agree that we should focus on getting younger kids back to school and that teachers should get priority when getting vaccines. I don't think that anyone will have a pleasant experience at school, teachers and students, if they feel unsafe, so I think that it would be best to wait until enough people get vaccines and our numbers get lower, hopefully by next year.
ReplyDeleteI have mixed feelings about it just because of the quickly the school system seems to be moving towards in-person learning. It seems very unrealistic and premature to all of a sudden start going back to school considering a lot these cities with large populations have been bouncing back and forth between lockdown restrictions. Similarly to Caitlin I feel like if students and teachers are constantly worried about their safety then going back to school wouldn't be enjoyable. I am still optimistic that going back to school this year is possible but if it were to happen it should be done slowly and carefully. My guess is that we'll be back after spring break or maybe a month or two after that for the end of the year.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is probably better for schools to open sooner rather than later, especially considering the immense learning loss for certain children over the past year. In addition, there have been almost zero major outbreaks caused by schools (that follow safe distancing guidelines, etc), so the risk is minimal. As for teachers' safety, it is ultimately each teacher's decision to decide if they want to come back to school or not -- but I think that besides older or vulnerable teachers, the risk to a young, healthy teacher of getting seriously sick from COVID is very low - I don't remember exactly, but not much different from the common cold.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, for our district specifically, I would prefer to remain in distance learning for the rest of the school year, just because a socially-distanced school experience would be a hassle and not that enjoyable.
SO I suppose overall, I think schools should open as soon is it is safe to do so WITHOUT social distancing. That may be a while, but to me it's better to pick one or the other: full-virtual or full-in person. A hybrid model seems too confusing and unnecessarily complicated to be worth it.
While I do think it is important students go back to school, but I do agree safety comes first and that Chicago schools are going back a little too early. Yes, the covid vaccines are coming out and a lot of people are getting them, but it's not enough. Waiting another month or so to allow for more people to get the vaccine I think would have been better. Chicago is also a large city and the covid rates have been going up and down, so going back may not be a good idea as it may lead to more cases. Also, students are being exposed to a large number of families, meaning if they did have a social bubble, it is now broken. They can spread cases to their own families and to other families, again leading to an increase in cases. Younger kids too, may not follow all the covid safety rules.
ReplyDeleteI think that returning to school is pretty important. In general Kids are not the most in danger of getting covid-19 so I think opening schools is generally safe for everyone involved. Also since vaccines are becoming more and more easy to obtain I think it would be a good idea to allow for slight exposer which may remove the need for everyone to be vaccinated as some could become naturally immune through exposure. And again since kids arent going be be dying from exposer I think its generally good. As for our school I think we are already in pretty far with distance leanring, if we go back I think it would be by next year.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you and other comments before mine that safety should come first before going back. It definitely does feel like they are rushing a bit but again, if scientists say it is safe then that is okay. I do think they need to ensure that teachers and people at high risk are vaccinated(at least two weeks). School will be very different, even with some of the population vaccinated. They will need to ensure that they social distance and wear masks. I think it is plausible for us to return to school in person but it will take our county going down a few tiers as well as high risk people being vaccinated. it may take a while but it is definitely possible.
ReplyDeleteI think that it's great that students are returning back to school slowly, as long as they follow the safety precautions that are needed to do so. I know that students that are under the age of 18 cannot get vaccinated but I believe that if the state doesn't have a ton of cases and the faculty, any one who can gets a vaccine, and everyone wears their masks, I think its great. However, with California being in the purple tier and school being online for so long, I don't think it's plausible for us to be returning back to school this year. I don't think it's possible that the state will go down in enough tiers for it to be reasonable for us to go back.
ReplyDeleteI believe that it is way too soon to return back to school and the process should be handled slowly. While yes, learning in person is much better than staring at a computer for 9 hours at a time, safety ultimately comes before ease. Students won't be able to get vaccinated and even with the teachers and staff being vaccinated, it leaves a chance of them still passing the disease to children who are more vulnerable. As for returning to school this year, I think that a select few should be able to return, if they either have special needs or have no internet connection. There really is no point in any other person returning because they have access to the zoom classes.
ReplyDeleteWhile it is good news that people are going back to school in-person I am hesitant because in a place that is as big as Chicago I feel it might not go that well. As long as some officials and scientists are willing to let kids go back to school, I feel it should go fine. I would have to say that we shouldn’t go back to school until the rates are lower than they are, and if that’s the case in Chicago, a huge urban city, it seems that it should be fine. Personally, for us in the Bay Area, I highly doubt we will return to in-person school this school year, just because of how long the Bay Area has stayed in purple, and there is no sign of it slowing down really. I would really love to go back to school this year but there is so much going on. I feel seniors should have first priority, and there should be a minimal amount of people in school at a time. There are just so many factors, that I think it’s best if we would stay at home the rest of this school year.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that people might be returning to school this week is pretty surprising to me. I don’t know much about the COVID-19 situation in Chicago at the moment, but if doctors are giving the okay, I think that’s great for Chicago. Though, I personally find this reopening to be too soon. As many of my peers have stated, safety comes first and foremost. If Chicago teachers are still deeply concerned about their own safety at this time, that tells me reopening schools now is not the best idea. As for our school, with things the way they are, I don’t think we’re going back to school. We have been in the purple tier for so long now, and it doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon. If there was a possibility that we could return to school this semester, which I don’t think will happen, I would much rather play it safe and continue distance learning for the remainder of the school year. I don’t feel comfortable with the idea of going back to school this semester, and I don’t think it would be worth the risk if there were to be an outbreak that could jeopardize our chances our returning to school in the fall.
ReplyDeleteI feel happy about the news of how people may be returning back to having school in person, but I am a bit wary of this because of the situation Chicago is currently in. While there may be vaccines and a decent amount of ICU beds available, that isn’t necessarily a sign of things returning back to normal - we still have a duty to ensure that we don’t act as spreaders for COVID. If scientists agree that it is safe and Chicago has already administered vaccines to those at high risks like the elderly, front line workers, and teachers, then I don’t see why elementary schools shouldn’t open up. However, schools that can stay virtual ought to stay virtual, just to make sure we minimize the risk of spreading COVID.
ReplyDeleteI think that returning to school would be great, however I don't know if it is actually a good idea. There are a few main ideas, such as education quality and health. In terms of education, it is extremely hard online. However if returning to school would be divided (x amount of students Monday, y amount of students Tuesday, etc) with plexiglass and social distancing everywhere, I am not sure the actual quality of the education would be much better. Especially if the majority of students are still at home. In terms of health, all those precautions and more are definitely necessary but in my opinion I would rather stay online instead of have a weird version of in-person school. Also, since doctors and scientists are still unsure whether the vaccine actually prevents people from spreading it, I think returning to school is a bit too soon. -Rowan CC
ReplyDeleteI believe that generally, having these people return to school is generally good, especially lower grade schools. Just today, the CDC has expressed that it is clear that schools can safely reopen (with precautions like washing hands, disinfection, diagnostic testing/contact tracing, masks), especially for lower grades who spread COVID less. The science seems to be fairly clear that with strict measures (as well as the increase in vaccination), schools should be safely reopen. I don't believe there is a significant issue with reopening elementary schools.
ReplyDeleteI am less certain about high schools. Particularly, considering the COVID conditions in California/the Bay Area, it seems implausible that the school will be able to safely return this semester.
This is definitely a very interesting proposal. It does feel like a little too soon to be doing this plan and going back to "normal" school but I also don't really know what the situation is in Chicago and what tier they're in. I think if a place is yellow or maybe orange tier (California tiers) then we can go back to school and even then social distancing may be emphasized. Vaccinations are good since they make it a lot safer but not everybody is going to be vaccinated right away. This is a step in the right direction but it can also go wrong. If there is a case, everyone will be quarantined for a while and also the return to "normalcy" may be delayed for the inevitable future. For the rest of the school year, I think we should play it safe. It almost feels like a little too late in the school year to just go back. Next year would be the year where we go back if conditions are right. We need to make sure not to rush this process and decision as it could have big implications.
ReplyDeleteAs others have mentioned, this proposal is certainly optimistic and unique. While I completely agree that schools should reopen sooner rather than later WITH the safety of teachers and children being first priority, there is no reason to rush it to this agree. If doctors have given the all clear, then a gradual return plan can be put in place over the next month or so in order for this to be possible. However, trying to force it into a week or even begin in a weeks seems a bit hasty and I feel like it could do more harm than good. The last thing that Chicago would want is a rushed return to school that only resulted in an outbreak among teachers or students. In regards to our schools opening, I believe in a similar policy. I know CDC just encouraged the reopening of K-12 schools and I would be beyond enthusiastic to return to school in a SAFE matter for students and teachers alike. After over a year of online school, we have all adjusted to the pros and cons of it. In person school is optimal but retuning in a week as opposed to a month will not make a significant difference in my opinion.
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