By Irene Romulo

Cicero District 99 teachers were expected to return to the classrooms on January 11 but 48% of them did not show up, according to Superintendent Rodolfo Hernandez.

“It is unfortunate that 48% of our teaching force ignored this directive [to report to their schools],” said Hernandez via email. “These teachers will be notified again that they need to report to teach from their classroom tomorrow.”

Teachers have pushed back against a return to in-person learning since July of last year. Many of them filed, and were denied, requests under the Americans with Disabilities Act to continue teaching remotely.

Cicero has surpassed 11,000 positive cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic and continues to have a rolling positivity rate higher than 12%.

The Cicero Council, the union representing Cicero teachers, wants a signed memorandum of understanding with the school district that includes safety measures such as daily deep cleaning of classrooms, a hazard analysis of school buildings before students and teachers return and a COVID-19 positivity rate of less than 8% in Cicero. They have also asked for office staff to work on a rotating basis for the rest of the year since they have more daily interactions with visitors.

In a phone interview with Cicero Independiente, Hernandez would not disclose the metrics the district is using but said they are in constant communication with health authorities.

“Over the last five months, the district has met with the D99 Union no less than 20 hours to provide plan updates and receive feedback on plans,” said Hernandez. These plans, according to Hernandez, include COVID-19 areas in all schools for students and staff who exhibit symptoms and hiring their own outside experts to inspect schools’ HVAC systems. Hernandez also said that the district has been spraying the classrooms with disinfectant everyday.

The next District 99 board meeting is scheduled for January 13 at 6:30 p.m.. Interested members of the public can attend the meeting virtually by registering at this link. You can follow the district’s Facebook page for updates on the meeting. According to District 99, there will be no Spanish interpretation available.

Irene Romulo is a co-founder of Cicero Independiente