Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian Harris | barrington220.org
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian Harris | barrington220.org
A photo of Superintendent Brian Harris of School District 220 Barrington with Chinese Consulate General Hong Lei is circulating online.
Lei, who is based in Chicago, has been Consul General since 2015.
The U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education have both warned of Chinese influence in U.S. schools.
It is unclear what, if any, relationship exists between Harris and Lei.
Harris has continued to support remote learning for students due to the reported rise in positive Covid-19 cases.
Last month, Chicago Tribune reported that Harris, along with other administrators, told board members that 700 out of 9,000 students in the district were going to the school buildings every single day.
While Illinois has been hit hard with the pandemic, data analyzed by Chicago Sun-Times showed that private and public schools in the Chicago area are not the breeding ground for the virus as some suggest.
Many believe that the push to continue remote learning stems from the teachers union and its desire to keep school students away from school. In some instances, the union has reportedly used the pandemic endemic to seek out increased benefits for its teachers.
During the summer, the American Federation of Teachers came out in support of strikes in the heated debate over the reopening of schools.
Many have argued teachers unions are behind the push to keep kids of school. In some cases unions are seemingly leveraging the pandemic to land better benefits for teachers.
The American Federation of Teachers has publicly backed strikes rather than having teachers return to classrooms.
Strikes are illegal for public servants such as teachers. That has not stopped ‘sick outs’ sponsored by teachers unions from rolling out across the country.
Just last week, hundreds of teachers in Chandler, Ariz., walked out of their classrooms.
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