Karen Ann Cullotta – Page 9

Sonya Winn works with Dayveon Dandridge at the day care business she runs out of her home in Chicago on Jan. 7, 2022.

COVID-19 school shutdowns across Chicago area pose steep hardships for families: ‘Parents are between a rock and a hard place’

January 8, 2022 at 8:25 a.m.

As a longtime home day care provider in the city's Auburn Gresham neighborhood, Sonya Winn was well aware of the hardships the Chicago Public Schools shutdown would have on working...

Benet Academy sign in Lisle, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021.

Catholic religious order of monks to cut ties with Benet Academy

January 7, 2022 at 3:02 p.m.

A Chicago-area religious order of monks said this week they are ending their affiliation with a DuPage County Catholic high school, which in recent months hired a woman in a...

At Laurel Hill Elementary School in Hanover Park, music teacher Lynne Schefke,who normally works at Huff Elementary School in Elgin, high-fives student Angel Herrera in a dual language kindergarten classroom while working as a substitute on Jan. 4, 2022. A surge of COVID-19 cases forced Elgin-based Unit School District 46 to close five of its 57 schools because of staffing shortages, including Huff Elementary.

More suburban schools close as COVID-19 surge hits teachers. At one district, more than 500 employees are out sick.

January 5, 2022 at 7:21 a.m.

Even remote learning is not an option for some students at a growing number of suburban schools, where the spike in COVID-19 cases this week has sidelined teachers and staff,...

Biology teacher Beth Pogonitz, left, helps Ariela Bielak, 15, with work in class at Ida Crown Jewish Academy on Jan. 3, 2022, in Skokie. The private school mandates COVID-19 vaccines and testing for students and staff and officials said Monday that they anticipate the school's proactive policies will keep classrooms open for in-person learning.

Rising student, teacher COVID-19 cases during winter break leave some suburban educators scrambling to reopen schools safely

January 3, 2022 at 6:50 p.m.

Soaring numbers of students and teachers with COVID-19 prompted one of Illinois' largest suburban school districts to cancel classes Monday, as educators in Chicago and the suburbs scrambled to safely...

Parishioners attend Mass at St. Mary of the Lake Catholic Church in Buena Park.

Chicago Catholic parishes facing steep hardships during pandemic, but leaders remain hopeful

December 31, 2021 at 12:26 p.m.

When parishioners gathered for Christmas Eve Mass at St. Clement Catholic Church last week, the Rev. Peter Wojcik was elated that for the first time since the arrival of the...

Chicago resident and Southwest Airlines flight attendant Corliss King, center, was determined to expand Illinois' paid leave law to cover Illinois airline workers after her employer denied her request to use sick leave to care for her critically ill husband, Terrance Hale, who died in 2020. King is with daughters Nayla Hale, left, and Adarah Hale near the South Shore Cultural Center on Dec. 22, 2021.

Chicago flight attendant who lost husband to illness wins paid sick leave battle for aviation workers: ‘It is an incredible gift to be able to give back, despite my grief’

December 28, 2021 at 9:38 a.m.

As a mother of two teenage daughters who spent her days juggling family responsibilities with her job as a flight attendant, Chicago resident Corliss King had no time in her...

Margaret Orozco pushes her bike to get tested for coronavirus outside Loretto Hospital in Chicago on April 27, 2020.

CPS urges students, staff to get tested before return to classroom after winter break: ‘We need to do everything we can to protect ourselves and others from COVID’

December 27, 2021 at 5:36 p.m.

In the wake of the latest surge of COVID-19 cases, officials at Chicago Public Schools on Monday urged families and staff members to get tested for the virus to ensure...

Thornwood High School special education English teacher Dwayne Bearden, the president of Thornton Township District 205 teachers union stands for a portrait at Thornwood High School in South Holland on Dec. 15, 2021. Bearden told the district to use federal COVID relief funds to invest in metal detectors at the district's three high schools following a recent parking lot shootout between students left a teacher's car riddled with bullets.

COVID-19 hardships fuel increase in violent student behavior and threats in K-12 schools: ‘It breaks our hearts to see them in crisis.’

December 19, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

When Illinois classrooms fully reopened for in-person learning this fall, teachers anticipated many of their students would need plenty of academic and emotional support to recover from 18 months of...

Englewood resident Fannie Peeples gets a Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine from Friend Health nurse Syreetta Stinson at the Peace House of I Grow Chicago, March 26, 2021. I Grow Chicago teamed with Friend Health to provide 150 vaccines, coffee and doughnuts at the event.

Should parents worry about a vaccine affecting a child’s fertility? Your COVID-19 questions answered.

December 16, 2021 at 1:27 p.m.

Should parents worry about a vaccine affecting a child's fertility? We asked local experts your COVID-19 questions. This resource will be updated as more questions arrive, so check back often....

Illinois state Rep. Fred Crespo listens as the Illinois Senate and House committee holds a hearing on solitary confinement in public schools in Chicago on Jan. 7, 2020.

Illinois teachers union calls for legislation holding districts accountable to school safety requirements in wake of Michigan shooting

December 15, 2021 at 6:39 p.m.

Determined to protect students and teachers amid a troubling rise in violent student behavior, officials with Illinois' largest teachers union said Wednesday they are partnering with legislators to ensure school...

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