Midwest
Students left behind as Chicago high school suffers from staffing issues, teacher absences: Report
Students at a Chicago high school were left without a teacher for several weeks, an issue stemming from a teacher shortage and chronic absences in Chicago Public Schools (CPS), according to a report.
Roberto Clemente Community Academy (RCCA), a high school based in Humboldt Park and West Town, is plagued with staffing issues, the Chicago Block Club reported.
The staffing crisis at the high school is reportedly attributed to a larger problem. Teachers told the Chicago Block Club that Clemente’s issues are “compounded by the management and leadership approach of administrators.”
RCCA is an institution that has largely served Puerto Rican families since the mid-1970s.
“About 46 percent of the teaching staff had more than 10 absences in 2023, according to CPS data. That means nearly half of Clemente teachers missed the equivalent of at least two weeks of school,” the outlet reported.
GROWING NUMBER OF TEACHERS LEAVING THE PROFESSION ACROSS THE US DUE TO BURNOUT, LOW PAY
Students were left without a teacher for a week, an issue stemming from a teacher shortage in Chicago Public Schools, according to a report. (iStock)
The outlet reported further, “Clemente is emblematic of a broader problem: CPS schools — and many other public schools across the country — are hamstrung by funding constraints and a nationwide teacher shortage, education experts said.
The outlet reported further that CPS officials “insist Clemente doesn’t have staffing issues.”
Fox News Digital previously reported on the challenges of staffing teachers across the country. Particularly in Arizona, almost a quarter of their teaching jobs are consistently vacant.
Districts nationwide are shortening school weeks and consolidating classrooms due to the shortage of teachers.
Similar to Illinois and Arizona, other states where more than half their school districts have a tough time filling school vacancies include Nevada, Florida and Michigan.
CALIFORNIA BILL PUSHES SCHOOLS TO DOLE OUT LESS HOMEWORK TO MITIGATE STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS
Students were left without a teacher for a week, an issue stemming from a teacher shortage in Chicago Public Schools, according to a report. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
School districts around the country are hiring internationally to help with the teacher shortage.
“They forgot about us,” Carolina Carchi, a sophomore at RCCA, heard her classmate say. Her classmates were “growing restless” and “sitting in their classroom with little to do,” the outlet reported.
The statement from Carchi’s classmate motivated her to step up to teach chemistry.
“When I heard that, this spark and passion grew in me,” Carchi told the outlet.
The students were told there would be a permanent teacher assigned to the classroom, but the teacher never showed up. Furthermore, they were given a substitute teacher, but the teacher did not know how to teach chemistry.
Similar to Illinois and Arizona, other states where more than half their school districts have a tough time filling school vacancies include Nevada, Florida and Michigan. (Getty Images)
Carchi reportedly told herself: “No, you’re not going to be left out, they didn’t forget about you, and I’m going to be here to prove that.”
The 15-year-old taught her classmates for two months during the winter of her sophomore year.
The course was not assigned a permanent teacher until the following fall, the outlet reported.
“Clemente students are missing critical instruction because so many teachers are regularly absent and positions go unfilled for long stretches,” the Chicago Block Club reported.
“As they deal with the stresses of working with students with significant needs, teachers say they’re not getting support from the school’s principal, which has left them burnt out and demoralized — and often absent,” the outlet noted.
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CPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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November 8, 1934 – January 22, 2026
Jane Carol Maisch Probst, 91, formerly of Ellicottville, NY and Bay Village, OH, passed away on January 22, 2026.
Born November 8, 1934, in Cleveland, OH, she was the daughter of the late Sterling Maisch and Irene Rothermel Maisch. She married Hubert “Bert” Probst on December 1, 1962, in Cleveland, OH, who predeceased her after 54 years, in 2017. She met Bert on a blind date in 1958 and married 4 years later.
Jane earned a degree in Medical Technology from Ohio University. She worked as a medical technologist at Lakewood Hospital in Lakewood, OH, and for a brief time in Saginaw, Michigan. She was instrumental in setting up the laboratory in the Pulmonary Medical Group in Fairview Park, OH, where she retired from before moving to Ellicottville, NY with her husband.
While raising a loving family in Bay Village, OH, winter weekends were spent traveling to and from Ellicottville, NY to ski at Holiday Valley Ski Resort, where they passed on their life-long passion to their children and grandchildren. Their ski adventures took them throughout North America and Europe. In 1985, Jane joined the Holiday Valley Ski School as a ski instructor. In 1988, Jane founded the Lounsbury Adaptive Ski Program at Holiday Valley, empowering people with disabilities to enjoy skiing using adaptive equipment. At the time, this was one of the first adaptive ski programs in the nation. Jane recruited the original staff of instructors and grew the program to what it is today. After 15 years she retired from adaptive ski instruction. Today the Lounsbury Adaptive Program provides over 200 adaptive lessons each season with over 40 qualified instructors.
After Jane and Bert moved full-time to Ellicottville, Jane spent 10 years as a volunteer at the Ellicottville Memorial Library. In 2019, Jane moved to Canterbury Woods Retirement Community in Williamsville, NY. There she volunteered for the on-site library, started a reading program for residents in assisted living and started a weekly singing club.
Jane was a longtime parishioner of St. Raphael Roman Catholic Church in Bay Village, OH, and Holy Name of Mary Roman Catholic Church in Ellicottville, NY, where she was a member of the choir.
Jane is survived by her children: Joseph (Donna), Mary (William), and Timothy (Tahira), 8 loving grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
In addition to her husband, Jane was predeceased by her brother John Maisch.
Friends may call at O’Rourke & O’Rourke Funeral Home, 25 River St, Salamanca, NY on Thursday, January 29, 2026 from 5 – 8 p.m.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Holy Name of Mary Roman Catholic Church, 22 Jefferson St, Ellicottville, NY on Friday at 10:30 a.m. with Rev. Charles Johnson as celebrant.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Lounsbury Adaptive Ski Program, Holiday Valley Resort, PO BOX 370, Ellicottville, NY 14731 or www.lounsburyadaptive.org/donate or the Ellicottville Memorial Library, 6499 Maples Rd, Ellicottville, NY 14731.
E-condolences can be sent to orourke.orourkefh@gmail.com or facebook.com/onofh
Police pursued suspects wanted in an armed 7-Eleven robbery in Cicero, Illinois, on Tuesday morning.
According to police, officers responded to a call for an armed robbery at 35th Street and Austin Boulevard around 3:30 a.m.
Staff told police several armed and masked individuals came into the store, possibly from two vehicles, and fled with cash.
Police identified and pursued one of the vehicles onto 290, but the chase was terminated on 290.
No injuries were reported.
Firefighters beat police in ‘hoagie building’ contest
Firefighters defeated police officers in a “hoagie-building” competition to honor the opening of a Wawa convenience store and gas station in Florida.
Motorists braving the extreme cold this week will have a new travel center at which to fuel their vehicles and bodies in Indiana
Wawa is slated to open a location in Richmond on Jan. 29.
The grand opening at 2600 Williamsburg Pike will commence at 7:55 a.m. with the doors opening at 8 a.m.
The first 250 customers will get free t-shirts.
All customers through Feb. 1 will get free hot coffee, any size.
The 8,000-square-foot store will offer Wawa’s signature made-to-order hoagies, fresh-brewed coffee, hot breakfast sandwiches, and a dinner menu that includes burgers, soups and sides.
The store will have interior and exterior seating areas; 16 liquid fuel spots for passenger drivers; 20 EV charging stalls; five high-speed diesel fuel lanes accepting over-the-road (OTR) payments; and a pet relief area.
Richmond will be Indiana’s ninth Wawa location.
The Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain entered the state in May 2025 with a store in Daleville, and quickly followed with openings in Noblesville and Clarksville.
The chain plans to open 60 stores in Indiana, including a location at 7140 E. Washington St. in Indianapolis scheduled for early 2027.
Contact reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cjackson@usatodayco.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X.com: @cherylvjackson or Bluesky: @cherylvjackson.bsky.social.
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