If We Can’t Trust the District to Take Parents Seriously, How Can Parents Trust Them With Kids Next Year?

Like every other parent in the Chicago Public Schools, I’m trying to wrap my head around what next school year might look like, both for everybody and for my own family in particular. So far, the struggle has produced more questions than answers and I’d imagine parents in every city across America are in the same boat.

We don’t know much yet about how CPS will handle next school year. Late last week the district emailed parents to give a heads-up that they will be using surveys and focus groups to hear our thoughts about next year and what we think is necessary to keep our children safe, supported and able to learn. That’s something, but it’s far from sufficient to rebuild trust in a district that has a long track record of not taking parent and community input seriously.

In that email, the district also made a few baseline commitments:

• Everyone will need to wear face coverings, and the district will provide a limited set to students and staff members at the start of the school year;
• Hand sanitizer will need to be readily available throughout buildings, and the district has begun procuring sanitizer for all schools;
• Stringent cleaning and disinfection protocols will be in place;
• And students and staff will receive daily temperature checks.

But I’ll be very surprised if anyone can find a CPS parent who trusts the district to uphold even these very basic health and safety measures. I’ve been a CPS parent for six years now, and have watched the district closely for more than two decades. Nothing is uniform. No policy is uniformly implemented. Maybe daily attendance. Maybe...

https://projectforeverfree.org/if-we-cant-trust-the-district-to-take-parents-seriously-how-can-parents-trust-them-with-kids-next-year/