Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said her goal is to have the city's public school district return to in-person learning this year, but that the decision to do so will ultimately be "guided by public health."
"We're starting to see some progress in our numbers but we are not there yet," Lightfoot said Tuesday as Chicago Public Schools began its school year remote. "And we're obviously we monitor them on a day by day basis and if we see that there is an opportunity, we're going to make sure that we engage the school community ahead of time."
CPS began its new school year Tuesday, but with some major changes as the coronavirus pandemic has forced the district to continue remote learning.
The district sent 125,000 devices to students in the spring and another nearly 20,000 heading into this school year.
While Lightfoot first proposed a hybrid learning model, with students in small pods in the classroom a few days a week, the Chicago Teachers Union put pressure on to continue remote learning, citing concerns for teacher and student safety amid the pandemic.
The remote learning plan has received mixed reactions from students and parents.
The district said it plans to remain remote for the first quarter and will evaluate for the second quarter if a hybrid plan will be added back.
