Save lives. Tell Chicago Public Schools to give protective gear to its school leaders NOW!

Save lives. Tell Chicago Public Schools to give protective gear to its school leaders NOW!

Started
April 21, 2020
Petition to
Signatures: 224Next Goal: 500
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Why this petition matters

Started by Chicago Principals & Administrators Association

Schools may be “closed” but they aren’t empty. Many CPS schools now serve as sites for food and computer device distribution, in support of the district’s new remote learning plan. As a part of these important initiatives, school leaders are risking their lives every day as essential workers on the front lines of food and technology distribution. For many, there are no employer-provided masks, gloves, or even hand sanitizer to keep them safe during these distribution efforts. There is no training or personnel to help them implement social distancing protocols. CPS has provided no signage to keep school visitors 6 feet apart.  Sign this petition to stand with us as we demand the following to keep staff and the public safe during this global COVID-19 pandemic.

  1. Personal Protective Equipment and safeguards for ALL school staff on site.
  2. Paid personnel, security, and tech support to aid food AND computer distribution.
  3. REQUIRE staff with high-risk health conditions to work from home.

Despite CPS’s failures to keep its school leaders safe, principals with underlying medical conditions continue to courageously interact with hundreds of people to distribute computer devices and keep their schools open for food distribution. According to our survey of over 500 CPS school leaders, 25% are considered at a “high-risk” of severe illness if they are infected with the coronavirus. More than half of all school leaders surveyed are either high-risk themselves or live with a high-risk loved one. Not only are these administrators in danger but if one of them gets an infection, the public they're interacting with could also be in danger.
 
With the school closures extended through the end of the academic school year, no end to potential virus exposure is in sight for many of these school leaders. CPS’s failure to provide resources, including personnel, to enforce social distancing means high-risk school leaders could come into direct contact with hundreds of students and their families in the upcoming weeks with neither the administrator or the parents and students being protected.
 
CPS claims to be committed to protecting the health of its students and staff. However, when one principal expressed concerns to the CPS Network about managing large crowds, the principal was told to “think of some strategies” to keep people separated. The Network indicated one strategy would be for the principal to “go out among the crowd and help people spread apart.” Leaving school leaders to face crowds unprotected and under-resourced does not show a commitment to its workforce. Instead, this demonstrates a callous disregard for their health and safety. Sign this petition now to show CPS this pass-the-buck approach to protecting the health of its school leaders is unacceptable.

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Signatures: 224Next Goal: 500
Support now
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