Last night I sent part of the results from our COVID-19 Survey to the CPS CEO, the Mayor, and every member of the Board of Education. I described the confusing and conflicting misinformation on the district's report-to-work requirements and attempts to pressure school leaders using false information that directly contradicts the guidance in the joint statement released by the Governor and several stakeholder organizations on March 17, 2020. I called on CPS to clearly and thoroughly communicate to school leaders that the nature of their service is their choice and that this choice will be respected. I also addressed the district's practice of feeding false coercive information and directives to school leaders via the telephone and other untraceable means. (See letter to governor here.)
Having received no response from the CEO, I escalated the matter this morning to the Governor, the State Superintendent, and the Director of the Illinois Department of Health. My message to them is as follows:
March 18, 2020
The Honorable J.B. Pritzker
Office of the Governor
Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Director
Illinois Dept. of Public Health
Dr. Carmen I. Ayala, Superintendent
Illinois State Board of Education
Greetings. I hope that all of you are doing well in this time of challenge. I want to start with a question: If the graphs below represented the COVID-19 related health risks of your supervisory staff, would you pressure them to report to work during a COVID-19 shutdown?
Unfortunately, that is precisely what the leadership of Chicago Public Schools did to the more than 1,000 principals and assistant principals whose COVID-19 risks are represented here.
At some point in the future, we should discuss the working conditions in CPS that underly the fact that a full quarter of Chicago school administrators indicate they have health conditions that put them in a high-risk group. At the present moment, however, the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association (CPAA) stands united with you in seeking reasonable and creative solutions to secure the health and safety of our students and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
CPAA encourages all of our members to contribute to the broader effort to serve Chicago's students and their families. On Tuesday, I visited several schools to talk with and support the principals who reported to their schools on primary election day to serve our district and its families in an environment where their safety is so uncertain. I commend them for their sacrifice, and I'm confident you appreciate that sacrifice as well. I hope that you also share my belief that it is up to each school leader to assess his or her risk level using the best available information to determine the ideal manner in which he or she will serve. I hope that you also believe that it is incumbent upon Chicago Public Schools officials to respect each school leader's individual decision in this regard.
Unfortunately, it has come to our attention that, rather than respecting principals' decisions, Chicago Public Schools officials are attempting to make that decision for them. They've done this by providing confusing and conflicting misinformation on the district's report-to-work requirements, and by pressuring school leaders using false information that directly contradicts the guidance in the joint statement released by the Governor and several stakeholder organizations on March 17, 2020.
The attached letter details these allegations, and it calls on the state to compel CPS to clearly and thoroughly communicate to school leaders that the nature of their service is their choice and that this choice will be respected. We also ask that you investigate the district's practice of feeding false coercive information and directives to school leaders via the telephone and other untraceable means, and—when substantiated--direct the district to cease this practice and levy consequences against those who engaged in it.
The men and women who lead Chicago's schools appreciate any time and effort you can give to this matter. Thank you.Very Respectfully,
Troy LaRaviere
President
Chicago Principals & Administrators Association
