Vox Sentences - In Israel, vaccines are working

Teachers unions are resisting plans to return to in-person school; vaccinations in Israel are showing some promising early results.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Gabby Birenbaum.

• The Chicago Teachers Union announced 71 percent of its members opposed a Chicago Public Schools plan to reopen some schools by February 1. CTU members say they will continue to work remotely, setting up a continued fight between teachers and city officials that is playing out in Chicago and across the country. [The Chicago Tribune / Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas and Bill Ruthhart]
• The vote underscores a number of growing tensions in education — where teachers fall in vaccine priority, how badly students are doing academically, and differing opinions over the safety of reopening school buildings as cases surge. [NPR / Laurel Wamsley]
• President Joe Biden has made it a goal to safely reopen K-12 schools. After meeting with American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, Biden said he was committed to making schools safe for both teachers and students through testing — a statement embraced by Weingarten, the CTU, and city officials. [The Chicago Sun-Times / Lynn Sweet, Nader Issa, and Fran Spielman]
• While critiques of teachers unions have mounted, Biden, who has long cast himself as a friend of labor, made it clear he understood teachers’ viewpoint. “The teachers I know want to work,” he said. “They just want to work in a safe environment.” [The Washington Post / Valerie Strauss]
• School reopening fights have become a sticking point in many liberal cities and suburbs, with teachers demanding positive-test rates fall before returning to the classroom. [The New York Times / Tracey Tully]
• Much of the opposition to teachers unions has come from beleaguered parents, who argue transmission rates from schools are low. Teachers, on the other hand, point to doctors who have said current case rates mean reopening is ill advised. [USA Today / Erin Richards]
• The battles over schools touch on many issues important to the left and how they can conflict, including trusting in science, supporting unions, enacting better child care policy, improving education, and protecting mental health. [The New York Times / Amelia Nierenberg and Adam Pasick]