Thank you, CPS – we support your decision to not transition our kids to remote learning.

As parents of Chicago Public School children, we’ve all experienced and suffered the impacts of remote learning. The latest decision by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) to not report to work is a step in the wrong direction that defies the opinions of public health leaders and puts our kids’ safety and health back at risk.

The mental health impact of remote learning on our kids was well documented by the medical community and felt by many parents. We’ve watched our kids deal with anxiety and depression as they struggled with remote learning, and we do not want to see our children face that again and cause even more damage. The risk of COVID our kids face by attending school does NOT outweigh the risks they face during remote learning. COVID cases are indeed up sharply, but the Omicron variant is not a deadly disease for children or vaccinated adults.  In fact, only 6 children have died of COVID in Chicago since the start of the pandemic (Source: chicago.gov) while 106 people in Chicago aged 19 and under have died by gun violence in 2021 alone (Source: chicagotribune.com) and 42 Cook County residents 18 and under committed suicide between April 2020-Dec 2021 (Source: Cook County Medical Examiner).

In addition, the ineffectiveness of remote learning vs in-person learning is also well documented.  Chicago Public School children fell behind their peers as they spent the longest amount of time in remote learning compared to suburban and private school children.  How will we make up that gap if we send our kids back into the same remote environment that created the problem?

We support CEO Pedro Martinez and his decision to not move to remote learning. We’d like to see CPS continue to hold that position as we do not want to see our kids go back to an ineffective and harmful remote learning environment – even on a part-time basis.

As CEO Pedro Martinez has indicated, the days do not count toward state educational requirements without a Declaration from the Governor or the Department of Health. We would rather opt our children out of remote learning, as opposed to forcing them back into that stressful and challenging environment.

If you are a Chicago parent, sign with us to show your support for CPS and their focus on keeping our kids in school.