Educators' "chronic absenteeism" is reportedly gripping Chicago schools, as a number of teachers have already skipped more days in the first part of this school year than they missed in the entire 2023-2024 academic year.
41% percent of teachers in the district missed more than 10 days last year in addition to their vacation time and built-in breaks – 10 days for winter break, five days for spring break, and eight more days off during the holidays.
Meanwhile, Mission: America President Linda Harvey says the Chicago Teachers Union is pushing for more benefits.
"Over three-fourths of their eighth graders are not proficient in reading," she notes. "This is a tragedy, and it is a societal disruption. Communities should be demanding that the schools produce a better product, and that is students who are proficient in reading and math."
Teachers are not showing up for the jobs they are already paid around $95,000 a year to do, but they are demanding an annual raise.
"The teachers union is still asking for a 9% pay increase, even though almost half of their teachers are called chronically absent," Harvey summarizes. "This is pathetic."
She says the unions should "go away" and the teachers who refuse to show up for work and do their jobs well should be fired. Additionally, students and families should have more education options.
