The Chicago Teachers Union’s abandonment of their duties today is nothing short of a strike.

It’s an action that ignores both science and experience. And in the Chicago Mayor’s opinion, it is illegal. Despite the $1.5 billion that Chicago had to prepare for precisely this moment, they were sadly less than ready.  Both the union and the administration should be dismissed. As stated when the Chicago Teachers Union similarly abandoned the city’s children in early 2021, the Mayor would do well to study former President Ronald Reagan’s actions during the 1981 air traffic controllers strike. He offered them 48 hours to return to work or be fired.

Why the hard line? When Covid’s first, more powerful and deadly strain hit, responsible and effective educators everywhere worked tirelessly to return to in-person learning, including the Chicago Catholic School system which opened long before the city’s public schools did and remained open.

And today, the threat of Covid is understood to be much less severe for schools and students. Reports the New York Times’ David Leonhardt, ”data now suggest that many changes to school routines are of questionable value in controlling the virus’s spread. Some researchers are skeptical that school closures reduce Covid cases in most instances. Other interventions, like forcing students to sit apart from their friends at lunch, may also have little benefit…One reason: Severe versions of Covid, including long Covid, are extremely rare in children. For them, the virus resembles a typical flu. Children face more risk from car rides than Covid.”

 

It’s the equivalent of calling a snow day when it’s raining, and then insisting that until the rain goes away they won’t return. In any other industry, such actions cost you your job.

Within five days of the first signs of the pandemic, Partnership Schools, a Catholic Schools network serving about 2,300 students across nine schools in New York City and Cleveland, was up-and-running a hybrid education model, with teachers adapting during the shutdowns to community and families’ needs as necessary.

Zeta Charter Schools was the first elementary school to reopen in New York City following the first wave of the virus shutdowns, offering in-person instruction, and serving over 50% of students in person full time, five days per week without losing a single instructional day.

In Springfield MO, a museum, The Discovery Center, converted to a school within five days rather than let kids go without education.

Another example of the tenacity of great educators is Louisiana Key Academy who had a plan in place within three weeks of the first outbreak, with the necessary resources and training in place to carry out live, small group virtual instruction. By July of 2020, they were the first school to reopen in the state.

The Dallas Independent School District has become innovative in the face of increasing health challenges. Not only did the Dallas Education Foundation create its first hybrid education model when the pandemic struck, it deployed sophisticated technology to ensure all students had access to learning. Today, Superintendent Michael Hinojosa has said virtual learning will be the absolute last resort for the 147,000-plus diverse student district.

These are but a few of the examples of education providers who did not walk out on their responsibilities, knowing that both adults and kids can be safe if schools follow basic protocols.

Teachers unions and the large school districts do not respect science anymore. And rather than copy the successful education approaches of thousands of schools across the country, they remain impervious to children’s educational needs and parent demands. Policymakers must hold them accountable and be willing to take bold action. They should follow Arizona Governor Doug Ducey’s lead. This week he announced that every parent would be given $7,000 as part of the “open for learning” program, if their schools are closed to them.

In a world where disruption is going to be the new normal for education, there cannot be the same tired response by outdated bureaucracies and unions unconcerned with not just the educational but the mental, emotional and physical well being of the nation’s children.  It is time for education innovators to be the driving force of change backed by a large and vocal body of parents everywhere and let it start with wholesale changes in Chicago. Parents need to not only vote those who would stay with a 19th century game plan out of office, but should put their names on ballots. It is the ultimate solution.