A first-grade teacher at a Logan Square elementary school passed away Thursday after a three-week battle with COVID-19, according to the Chicago Teachers Union.
Olga Quiroga was in her 30th year working at Chicago Public Schools, most recently as a bilingual teacher at Funston Elementary.
Hired by the district in 1991, Quiroga spent her first 10 years as a reading instruction assistant before moving into bilingual teaching.
“Olga had both tremendous love and high expectations for her students, who knew she cared deeply for them and was committed to their success,” CTU President Jesse Sharkey said in a statement.
“As a Mexican immigrant herself, Olga understood the plight of her immigrant students’ families, and in her work she supported not just children but their parents and siblings in their efforts to navigate the school district,” Sharkey said. “Her warmth, giving nature and commitment to support whole families was an inspiration to her fellow educators and every student she encountered.”
CPS spokeswoman Emily Bolton said the Funston community has been told of Quiroga’s death and the school will provide support for students beginning Monday.
“Our hearts are heavy upon learning of the loss of a dedicated member of the CPS community,” Bolton said. “Our deepest condolences are with Mrs. Quiroga’s family and the Funston school community.”
Quiroga’s biography page on Funston Elementary’s website included a message to families written in Spanish welcoming them to her classroom, Room 206, and encouraging them to reach out to her with any questions ahead of an unprecedented school year.
“I firmly believe that the best way to ensure that your child has a successful year is for you and I to work as a team,” she wrote. “Please share with me a bit of your insights and perspectives on your child. This can give us a good start to a positive relationship.”
The CTU said Quiroga had been in the building several times last month to distribute school supplies to families and help with other tasks at the school. She had been in the building since before the start of the school year through the second week of September. Quiroga was hospitalized in mid-September after falling ill, the union said.
Bolton said the district’s contract tracing found one direct contact with Quiroga at the school and that person was quarantined. No other cases have been reported at Funston, she said.
