CHICAGO – Chicago parents Willie and Brittany Preston have spent almost a year wrestling with online school schedules for their six children, often with everyone hovering over devices around the dining room table.
On Thursday, they got some relief. Their youngest daughter, 4-year-old Lear, returned to class with thousands of others in pre-K and special education as the nation’s third-largest school district slowly reopened its doors following a bitter fight with the teachers union over COVID-19 protocols.
Willie Preston, who runs a construction firm with his wife, said nowhere can guarantee a coronavirus-free environment but he feels safe with the district’s steps: cleaned buildings, daily health screenings and new air filters. “We just