Thread by @BauerJournalism

This has now been moved to 9:30 a.m.

https://twitter.com/BauerJournalism/status/1348646789986004992

Lightfoot: Dawes has "clean and well-ventilated classrooms and ample space for students and staff to remain 6 feet apart," as well as masks and hand sanitizer stations.

Lightfoot: "Although today isn't the first day of school, it is our city's first day of embarking on our path to returning to in-person learning since that learning stopped more than 300 days ago."

Lightfoot: Back then, our city was in a different place, as we were learning so much.

Since then, we've become equipped with more data/resources and a vaccine (note: which is not yet available to teachers).

Lightfoot: "Today marks a huge step forward in making sure that we are addressing those longstanding issues, and at top of the list is educational equity and achievement issues."

Lightfoot: "... Remote learning, while it works just fine for some, it absolutely has not served all of our students equally or well." Some have continued studies, but "too many others, especially in our highest-need students, in our highest-need neighborhoods, have had the ...

"opposite experience."

Lightfoot: "I also understand and hear and see those who are concerned about returning to in-person instruction." To them: "I want to assure you that we have and we will continue to take every step possible to address those concerns in a way that is consistent with the public ...

"health guidance. We started down that path really weeks ago by granting a range of accommodations for those who must opt out of in-person instruction." (The majority of requests to opt out were denied.)

Lightfoot: "We can't get any of the other things done that are necessary, whether it's economic development, whether it's addressing the violence in our neighborhoods, the mental health and trauma, if we don't have a strong and vibrant, healthy public school system. It is core."

Lightfoot: "CPS is absolutely essential to who we are. Strengthening CPS in every way in collaboration with the entire school community is what we must be about. Why? Because our children depend upon it."

Lightfoot: She thanks teachers working remotely and in person, "who are going, and have been going, above and beyond to make sure that our kids feel a sense of love and connection and support."

Lightfoot: The only issue on the table has to be what's in the best interest of our young people, our students.

Jackson: "We know that remote learning is not an option for all of our students." 77,000 have chosen in-person.

Jackson: "It is our mission in Chicago Public Schools to bring all of our students back" over the next several months.

Jackson: CPS is "now implementing a voluntary COVID-19 surveillance testing program for school-based staff." District will use it to monitor the prevalence of COVID-19 among asymptomatic staff. Employees who participate will be tested monthly at schools. Results in ~15 minutes.

Staff who test positive will get a PCR test.

Results will be "quickly communicated" to families and staff.

Beginning today, you'll be able to follow and track that data at CPS.edu/reopening.

Jackson: Over 20% of school-based staff chose not to participate last week.

Jackson: "We are doing this for our Black and Latinx students," whose attendance/grades have fallen. We're doing this for youngest learners and many parents, who are essential workers.

Jackson: "Most importantly, we are reopening our schools because we believe it is safe to do so."

Jackson: Families with questions can contact CPS hotline at 773-553-KIDS or email [e-mail].

Maria Vazquez, a mother of two pre-k students at Dawes: I chose in-person learning because these are critical years and children need the social-emotional support and stability of in-person learning.

Jackson: The most current data we have is from Friday, where over 71% of school-based staff returned. There was a constant uptick from Monday of teachers and paraprofessionals returning. 29% or so who haven't returned are people who are following health protocols — people who ...

may have been exposed, traveled and need to quarantine, etc. "There's a small group of individuals that are simply resisting ... . Most of them are coming to work, No. 1, or following the protocols ... ."

Jackson: They don't have attendance data for today yet.

Lightfoot on extending stay at home advisory while reopening schools: "We extended it as a to make sure it was aligned with I think what the state is doing, but we are making significant progress." When it was put in place, "we were seeing a really troubling increase in cases,...

"percent positivity. Since November, when it peaked, we have been coming back down, even through Thanksgiving and then Christmas and New Year's. So we are making steady progress overall. The advisory is really about making sure that we're doing everything we can to give people...

"the best information, and recall that from the very beginning schools were exempted from the stay at home advisory."

Dr. Allison Arwady from CDPH: They've asked people to limit non-essential activities, but that doesn't include school. "We continue to be reassured by the way that the data is going. ... By and large, we are in a much, much better than we were," ...

and we're doing much better than most of the rest of the United States.

Arwady on moving down to Tier 2 mitigations: "I would note that this is state mitigation that is in place at this point ... . Our hospital numbers look good here in Chicago. We are under that 12% positivity." Gov/state have signaled they want to watch for stabilization after ...

NYE, which she is in agreement with. But the mitigation comes in steps. "These tiered mitigations that hav ebeen put in place at the next level — if we're able to back out of that, that doesn't yet bring us to indoor dining, for example."

Arwady: "We obviously ... within Phase 1B, which is the phase, we're not there yet ... as we start to move forward into 1B, just like at the state level, we both open up vaccine to older Chicagoans and we are start working on some very specific frontline workers, and that does...

"include teachers" and other school/day care staff. There's about 150,000 people who work in that educational category in Chicago.

Arwady: "A lot depends on how quickly vaccine comes to us. We get about 32,000 first does of vaccine a week right now." There are 375,000 people over 65. "There is going to have to be some patience here. ...

"But I would expect that we will likely be beginning in the sort of February to March timeframe, and we'll continue to vaccinate over the" next few months.

Arwady: She's "really pleased" CPS is moving ahead with in-person education.

Jackson: Staff has been trained to address issues around students unable to wear protective gear. Many parents are stepping up and providing additional resources. Some parents opting to keep children home.

Lightfoot: We still need to get more vaccine as quickly as possible.

Jackson: "This is the first step in a process to bring everyone back."

Lightfoot on Catanzara's remarks/apology: "I think the FOP president's recent comments ... is his really tone-deaf comments about what happened last week in our nation's capital. I have to say that I personally felt deeply ...
blockclubchicago.org/2021/01/11/chi…

"affected by seeing those vigilantes and domestic terrorists laying siege to our nation's capital. I was very privileged as a young person right out of college to work in our nation's capital ... . I walked those halls with incredible reverence for what that building ...

"represents, not only for us as Americans but what it represents as really the citadel of democracy, the people's house. The fact there was a joint session of Congress that was there, fulfilling its constitutional obligation, and that the current president in what I think was ...

"a criminal act incited insurrection against a core part of our democracy and attacked the legislative branch. And you watch the video from that siege — I feel still fear, feel despair and fear about what happened. And I think people of goodwill with their eyes wide open saw ...

"that for what it was, which was an incredible attack on our democracy, an undermining of who we are as a nation. No one should take that lightly. ... The fact that he waved that off as nothing says a lot about the character of him. But that's not the only thing he has done. ...

"He has a long history of saying and doing things that are anti-democratic. ... This isn't about partisanship; this is about do you, as a sworn member of law enforcement, where you swore an oath to uphold the U.S. & Illinois constitution, do you actually believe in your oath?...

"He has said and done too many things, too many things over too long a period of time, which clearly underscore the fact that he doesn't believe in the rule of law, that he doesn't respect the U.S. Constitution, that he doesn't respect the Illinois Constitution. So I ...

"absolutely understand the outrage ... ."

Lightfoot: "We need to turn the page from this horrible, hideous chapter in our nation's history."

Lightfoot on Trump: "This is a man who is dangerous, who is unhinged ... . I'm worried about the fact that he could order a nuclear strike. I'm worried about the fact that he could order troops into harm's way. ... Can we, in the next nine days, have assurances that he cannot ...

"act in a way that is gonna put American lives at risk?"

Lightfoot: It'd be a "big sigh of relief" if he resigned early, but she doesn't think that'll happen. She doesn't think impeachment will have any impact on him. "This is a man who doesn't care."

Press conference over.