In the largest protest this week, at least 700 Jefferson County students left classes Wednesday morning in protest of school board decisions and proposed changes to history curriculum.
The students gathered at the intersection of Ken Caryl Avenue and Chatfield Boulevard by mid-morning, most from rival high schools Chatfield and Dakota Ridge.
Some of the students waved American flags and held signs that said, “Don’t make history a mystery,” which has become a slogan of this week’s walk-outs. Others piled into cars and sped around the intersection honking their horns and screaming out open windows.
Tensions have been mounting in the school district as students, parents and teachers push back against district leadership. Wednesday’s protests meant that students at roughly half of all county high schools had walked-out of their classes in protest this week.
Community members are angry about an evaluation-based system for awarding raises to educators and a proposed curriculum committee that would call for promoting “positive aspects” of the United States and its heritage and avoiding material that would encourage or condone “civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law.”
Wednesday’s protests follow Tuesday student walkouts that happened at Arvada West, Pomona, Ralston Valley, Wheat Ridge and Golden high schools. More than 100 Evergreen High School students also walked out of classes Monday morning to protest outside of the county’s school administration building in Golden where they met with the district superintendent.
“It was kind of just spur of the moment,” said organizing student Ashlyn Maher, a Chatfield senior who organized Wednesday’s protest. “I heard one teacher was so moved by people leaving that she started to cry.”
Several Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies were at the scene, along with school administration members, watching over students and urging them to stay out of the streets and pick up their trash. About three hours after the protest began, a student leader urged his classmates to return to school.
“Let’s show them we respect out education!” the leader said over a bullhorn. Most of the students obliged, walking away from the protest and back to school by about 10:15 a.m.
“I respect the right of our students to express their opinions in a peaceful manner,” superintendent Dan McMinimee said in a statement Tuesday.”I do, however, prefer that our students stay in class.”
Jordan Gleason, a student at Columbine High School, skipped school and drove over to support the cause.
“We’ve really got to fight for what we believe in,” Gleason said.
“I’m not going to lie, there are kids here (just skipping class),” said student organizer Scott Romano, a Chatfield junior. “But the majority of us are out here for the right reasons.”
Also Wednesday, McMinimee visited with students at Alameda International High School before about 75 of them walked out in protest, according to 7News and The Associated Press.
The protests follow the closing of two county schools Friday after a 50-teacher sick-out.
Students have said they organized the protests on Facebook.
The Jefferson County School Board now is being ridiculed on Twitter by a new trend called #JeffcoSchoolBoardHistory.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul
