Union leaders and school officials are back at the bargaining table for day three of a huge strike that has impacted 350,000 Chicago students.
So far there is no indication that the two sides are going to bridge the gap soon. The main sticking point is over a proposal to base teacher evaluations on student test scores.
The Obama Administration has stayed on the sidelines so far, but its shadow is looming large in this showdown. Not only is Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel President Obama's former Chief of Staff, but many of the school reforms that have attracted the ire of the union have been championed by Secretary of State Arne Duncan, the former head of the Chicago Schools System.
What are the long-term implications of the standoff? It's hard to say. According to the Washington Post, the strike could further highlight the divide between the President and the teachers' union, or it may be viewed as something far less national: a local battle-of-the-wills between two hard-charging personalities, Mayor Emanuel and Chicago Teachers Union leader Karen Lewis.