(WOODLAND PARK, Colo.) — Supporters and teachers lined the streets in Woodland Park on Thursday, March 2 in continuation of a protest that began on Wednesday.

Woodland Park School District RE-2 sent out a press release on Wednesday explaining that teachers at Woodland Park Middle School (WPMS) had participated in a call-out-sick protest in response to the district’s decision to relocate sixth grade back to elementary schools from middle schools in the 2023-2024 school year.

On Thursday, even more people showed out to line the streets in Woodland Park, citing lack of collaboration or communication as the reason for the protest.

According to a post on supportwpschools.com, which is run by the Woodland Park Community Education Coalition, the decision to move sixth grade back to elementary schools was made without collaborating or communicating with parents or teachers in the district, and in protest, “the majority” of staff called in sick on Wednesday.

The post said Superintendent of RE-2, Ken Witt, would meet with staff at the middle school on Thursday, and the post called for as many supporters to bring signs and show their support for teachers.

  • Woodland Park parents and teachers protest decision to move sixth grade
    Courtesy: Khurshid Rogers
  • Woodland Park parents and teachers protest decision to move sixth grade
    Courtesy: Khurshid Rogers
  • Woodland Park parents and teachers protest decision to move sixth grade
    Courtesy: Jason Randolph
  • Woodland Park parents and teachers protest decision to move sixth grade
    Courtesy: Jason Randolph
  • Woodland Park parents and teachers protest decision to move sixth grade
    Courtesy: Jason Randolph
  • Woodland Park parents and teachers protest decision to move sixth grade
    Courtesy: Erin O’Connell

The post to supportwpschools said a meeting between Witt and staff on Wednesday morning at Summit Elementary “did not go well,” and a member of the protest who reached out to FOX21 News said staff left that meeting “crying, furious, unheard.”

In its press release from Wednesday, the district cited reasons behind the decision being a focus on “literacy and numeracy,” which the district said would be enhanced by a lack of peer pressure that typically comes with navigating more complex social relationships in middle school.

However, a separate post from Feb. 28 on supportwpschools said the move was being made to provide more space to Merit Academy, which is located in WPMS. That post argued that a feasibility study completed in April 2022 showed that the middle school was not anywhere near capacity, and “it’s not clear how this move is actually necessary.”

FOX21 News will continue to follow this story and provide updates when they become available.