After 11 missed school days, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and the Office of Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that the strike was over on October 31st, 2019 with students heading back to class beginning the following day, November 1st, 2019.
This announcement came after days of grueling negotiation between the CTU and the Mayor’s Office, and much pressure from the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and CPS families to get students back to school as soon as possible. Finally compromising on the list of demands, CTU, CPS, and the Mayor’s Office agreed to, among other provisions, a 16% raise for teachers, smaller class sizes, full-time nurses and social workers, and more staffing for special education and English learners. Additionally, they notably agreed that CPS buildings and property would be declared immigration sanctuary spaces for students and those at CPS on school-related business.
Some of these demands will take effect immediately, while others will have to be phased in by year. For example, while CPS has promised $35 million annually to help with class-size caps, new limits can’t be enforced until the 2020-2021 school year. In addition, CPS says all schools will have at least one full-time nurse and social worker every day by July 2023 with the goal of beginning to match schools with nurses and social workers on an as-needed basis prior to 2023.
As part of the last portion of their agreement, CPS is allowing teachers and students to make up five of the eleven instructional days missed. Today (11/5/19), they proposed the following make-up dates, Wednesday, November 27th; Thursday, January 2nd; Friday, January 3rd; Wednesday, June 17th; and Thursday, June 18th. CPS commented in a tweet, “The make-up days must be scheduled on days on which teachers would not otherwise be paid, which severely limited the district’s options.”
The Board of Education will vote on the official budget, updated calendar, and agreements put forth by the CTU and CPS at their meeting on November 20th, 2019.
Lauren Lynch, Tutoring Coordinator
lauren@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266