Coronavirus Chicago
Emerging data suggests school districts such as Chicago are making headway. But experts say this is only the start of an undertaking that will likely take years.
Chicago music teacher Trevor Nicholas is inspiring his students to live out their dreams after a tumultuous few years from the COVID pandemic.
District leaders are urging families to get vaccinated, but the school system isn’t keeping tabs on how many students are receiving COVID boosters.
It’s been a tumultuous and uncertain year for public schools in Chicago and Illinois. But there have also been moments of joy and resilience. Chalkbeat Chicago reporters documented it all. Here are a dozen of the top stories of 2022.
With cases of COVID-19, flu, and other respiratory viruses on the rise, Chicago’s top doctor Allison Arwady and schools chief Pedro Martinez are encouraging students to stay vigilant during the holiday break.
Less than half of the federal COVID money sent to Illinois has been spent by school districts, according to a new data dashboard. The money has so far helped pay for staff, new technology, tutoring, and building repairs.
Amid lagging vaccination, the city’s health commissioner urged Chicagoans to get the new omicron booster to avoid a winter surge.
As schools across Illinois bring back activities for students that happened pre-pandemic and protect them from the coronavirus, Jinsun Baek, a school nurse says that it will take balance to have both
If approved, Pfizer’s bivalent vaccine will be administered to children between 5 and 11, and a Moderna booster will be available for children 6 and up.
As more young children get vaccinated, Illinois will no longer require unvaccinated school and child care employees to test for COVID twice a week.
After hovering around 45% last spring, the average school is 39% fully vaccinated at the start of the new school year.
COVID-19 cases among students and staff increase during the first week of classes as restrictions are looser and a highly contagious variant circulates.
Chicago district leaders will face staffing shortages, bus issues, and pandemic-related academic and mental health shortfalls in another high-stakes year.
Mask optional policy and school-based testing continue, but no quarantine requirement for students unless they test positive
Roughly 2,500 out of the 57,000 students enrolled in summer programs have consented to school-based COVID testing, but the district cautioned the numbers are preliminary.
COVID vaccines for children under 5 are finally available. In the first week, more than 2,000 Chicagoans have gotten shots.
CPS officials said the authorization will allow the district to be nimble and prepared for unexpected purchases.
The COVID vaccines will be available after authorization from the Food and Drug Administration Friday and expected approval by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A look at the challenges Chicago Public Schools faced trying to meet student needs.
The district will resume testing for summer school starting July 6, and will offer testing during the upcoming school year.
The masking requirement at Oscar Mayer Magnet School and 20 classrooms comes as Chicago Public Schools cases have increased in recent weeks, surpassing the mid-January omicron surge.
Pedro Martinez, who is fully vaccinated and boosted, was experiencing mild cold-like symptoms after testing positive on Thursday.
Please Stay is focused on providing mental health support aimed at suicide prevention for seventh to 12th grade students in Chicago Public Schools.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law a bill providing paid COVID sick leave for school staff and restoring sick days taken during the 2021-2022 school year. Here’s what to know about the law.
The move from low to medium transmission risk will not trigger a citywide mask mandate, or other restrictions, health officials say.
With the help of a town hall, phone calls to parents, and student- created TikTok videos, Dunne STEM Academy has seen vaccine rates climb in recent months from 5% to 42.3%.
Advocates and parents have raised concerns about curriculum, support for English language learners, and meeting the needs of students with disabilities.
Despite a gradual uptick in overall vaccine rates since December, the nation’s third largest district is struggling to make inroads at predominantly Black schools on the South and West Sides.
The district has only spent 12%, or $62.9 million, on a program to address the pandemic’s academic and mental health harms.
The 3-2 vote increases the odds that the mask-optional policy will stay in place.
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