This week, the first wave of children, teachers, and clinicians in the Chicago Public Schools system were required to appear at their schools for the first time in nearly a year. While COVID-19 cases and deaths have only increased (and increased dramatically) across the country since last spring, CPS officials and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot insist on reopening schools. What's worse, teachers who fear for their safety and the safety of their students and coworkers are being locked out of their employee accounts and having their pay docked if they refuse to return from teaching remotely. In this urgent mini-cast, we talk to Paula Ladin and Mariana Ruiz, two CPS special-ed educators, about the city's dangerous, reckless, and unnecessary reopening plan and the impact it is already having on students, teachers, their families, and their communities.

Additional links/info below...

• Chicago Teachers Union website and Twitter page
• Dawn Reiss, The Washington Post, "Chicago School System Locks Out Some Teachers, Withholds Pay for Not Returning to In-Person Instruction"
• Jermaine Nolen & Nader Issa, Chicago Sun Times, "CPS Teacher Tests Positive for COVID-19, Forcing Principal into Quarantine During 1st Week Back"
• Hannah Leone, Chicago Tribune, "As New COVID-19 Cases Emerge in Chicago Public Schools, Families Plea for Reinstatement of Locked-Out Teachers"

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

• Jules Taylor, "Working People theme song"