CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago schools have reopened their doors to thousands of pre-K and special education students. Their return Thursday marks the start of a gradual plan to resume classroom instruction since the nation’s third-largest district went remote last March. The move follows a monthslong bitter fight with the union over COVID-19 safety protocols and the looming threat of a teachers strike. On Thursday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and school’s CEO Janice Jackson greeted students at William H. Brown Elementary School on the city’s West Side. Some parents say it is a relief to have the option of in-person instruction after nearly a year of remote teaching, while others are still skeptical.
