Not going back yet...

 We are out of the buildings until at least March 1st

Waukegan schools superintendent  Theresa Placencia

Once again an announcement has been made that we will not be returning to the school buildings until at least March 1st. This delay is at least partly the result of the desire of the school district to have all staff vaccinated, which will be occurring soon but which will require time to complete. There is a period of two weeks or so between doses of the vaccine. According to the Chicago Tribune:

Superintendent Theresa Plascencia announced the new target date to put the youngest students back into their school buildings Tuesday ahead of a meeting of the district’s Board of Education because she wants to see further improvement in public health conditions.

“This will allow us to further monitor COVID-19 metrics and infection rates, as well as allow for more individuals to be vaccinated,” she said in an email to the school community. “The transition to hybrid learning will not be made until we believe it is safe to do so.”

Plascencia said giving teachers, administrators and other staff time to get vaccinated was a “major contributing factor” in the decision to wait until March 1 before bringing children back into the classroom. (Return of Waukegan students to the classroom put off until at least March to allow more staff to receive vaccinations)

So we are looking at the whole month of February's instruction being online. Keep in mind Spring break is scheduled for the fourth week in March and there is basically only two months left of the school year after vacation.

Meanwhile in Chicago, the Mayor Lori Lightfoot has demanded that teachers return to the classroom this week. If teachers do not return by today, the mayor and the school administration has threatened 'action' against staff. However the teachers' union disagrees with this return date. We will see what the outcome will be in the Chicago schools shortly.

Question: Do you believe schools are safe to return to at this time?

"Our schools are safe": Chicago mayor orders teachers to be in the classroom starting Monday

Return of Waukegan students to the classroom put off until at least March to allow more staff to receive vaccinations