Teachers Union Agrees To Teach In Person When District 65 Reopens

EVANSTON, IL — Administrators and teaching staff in Evanston/Skokie School District 65 have come to an agreement over a reopening plan, district officials announced.

Superintendent Devon Horton said the district had reached an agreement with the District 65 Educators' Council, or DEC, after 23 bargaining sessions.

"It was grueling and tiresome, but together they stayed," Horton said at Monday's board meeting. "It wasn't always an easy process, but they grinded it out and came up with a really good plan."

DEC is the bargaining unit representing about 700 certified and licensed staff members in the district and an affiliate of the Illinois Education Association. Union representatives have not responded to messages requesting comments about the agreement or the reopening plan.

Thanking those that helped hammer out the undisclosed agreement, Horton said the YMCA had assisted by providing child care to staff members who needed it, and teachers returning to school would be vaccinated before those who are not.

According to the superintendent, AMITA Health representatives called the district Jan. 18 with an offer to begin vaccinating staff and began administering jabs at St. Francis Hospital later in the week.

"Just last week we started with vaccines for staff for the first dose in anticipation of getting so many staff members vaccinated until everyone who chooses, who's returning, to be vaccinated," he said. "And then for those who cannot return, we have plans to get them vaccinated as well."

Board President Anya Tanyavutti thanked those that negotiated the deal, as well as the district's students, who have been out of its buildings for more than 10 months.

"Our kids have been patient, they have been adaptive, they have been creative," Tanyavutti said.

Tanyavutti said the pandemic had been unpredictable, and guidance from the government had been lacking as the district formulated its reopening plan.

"I look forward to hearing from our kids and families about their experience of these plans in action," she said. "So we will have the opportunity to have the joy of children's laughter and squeals and conversations echoing through our hallways and classrooms again, and that's a gift to them and that's a gift to all of us and our community."

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Board member Joey Hailpern, the board's representative on the district's medical advisory group whose members were first announced Jan. 15, said the group had provided confidence.

"Whether it's the air filters or prepping the common spaces so that children can come and be safe at school, they provided a lot of information about future metrics and decision making that the district can take into consideration should COVID spike in our area," he said. "They provided a rationale for why we should jointly at the macro data around us but also the micro data at each school site"

The only metric listed for consideration by district administrators in determining when to shift between fully remote and hybrid learning models is whether the seven-day rolling average coronavirus test positivity exceeded 12 percent in suburban Cook County or in the district's attendance areas.

A return to remote learning could also be triggered by a statewide restriction on in-person instruction, advice from local public health officials or an inability to maintain adequate staffing or personal protective equipment.

RELATED: School Reopening Date Set For District 65 As ETHS Remains Remote

Board member Sergio Hernandez thanked parents and community members who have contacted the board and administrators as the district has developed its reopening plan. He said everyone at the district wants children to be back in school buildings just as bad as they do.

"But at the same time, we as a board — I'm very proud of this board — want to make sure that we were prioritizing equity and elevating the voices of folks who haven't been able to reach out to us, who don't have the luxury to reach out to us through emails or trying to call us," Hernandez said. "Again, really trying to prioritize the voices of folks who have been left out, because to be honest, the loudest voices aren't necessarily the most representative."

Hernandez urged those who have become more engaged with the district amid reopening discussions to stay involved to address the community's continuing public health, mental health and economic challenges.

"The folks who have reached out to us, who've been upset with us, who've supported us too, make sure that you stick around," he said. "Because we have so many battles to continue in regards to this equity work, because this is a journey."

District staff did not immediately respond to a request for a copy of the agreement following the meeting.

While teachers in some districts to Evanston's north and west have been teaching students in classrooms starting last fall or this winter, the union representing teachers to the city's south is continuing to bargain with Chicago Public Schools administrators over reopening conditions.

Last weekend, the Chicago Teachers Union voted against returning to in-person work until it reaches an agreement with the district. The union is calling for teachers to be vaccinated before being required to return to the classroom and for a defined metric that would determine whether schools reopen or close.

RELATED: CPS Announces Plan To Vaccinate Teachers As Union Votes On Strike