Some Parents, Students Rally Behind Teachers During Walkouts
DENVER (CBS4)- As teachers prepare for walkouts across Colorado, parents and students are deciding how to handle the day off from school.
For Leigh Rovegno, mother of two students in Denver Public Schools, the decision came easy.
"We will have three generations there to support our teachers," Rovegno said.
They were among dozens of parents who showed up for a sign making party outside of Lincoln Elementary school on Wednesday.
An event that parents organized on their own.
"Honestly the teachers are really shy about talking about this stuff with parents because they don't want us to feel uncomfortable," she said.
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Rovegno and her children loaded up on markers and poster boards, trying to decide the best way to sum up their feelings about teachers.
"Our schools, our kids, our future," her 10-year-old daughter Charlie read the sign out loud.
Denver Public Schools joins the growing list of districts who have canceled school days this week, anticipating a large number of teacher absences on Thursday and Friday.
Thousands of educators plan to rally at the state Capitol on those days pushing for more funding.
"They're like family, they're like an extension of our family and we want to see them taken care of," Rovegno said.
For her taking, the time to support the teachers just made sense.
"These people are in charge of our children safety especially these days not just their education," she said.
An added bonus for her -- there's a lesson about civic engagement in it for everyone.
"It's really up to us as parents to teach and lead by example but to also involve them in the process," Rovegno said.
About 10,000 teachers are expected to participate in the demonstrations, which will also include lobbying lawmakers and "grade-ins" to show how much work teachers do outside the school day in addition to rallies.
Karen Morfitt joined the CBS4 team as a reporter in 2013. She covers a variety of stories in and around the Denver metro area. Connect with her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter @karenmorfitt or email her tips.