Parents defended a Colorado teacher who drew cartoon penises on her student’s papers and yearbooks – apparently as a joke.
Rebecca Roetto, an employee at Fairview High School since 2003, works as a physical education instructor – teaching Wellness in Action, Yoga and Bowling as well as running the Adelante! program, which provides support to first-generation Hispanic students.
Students, parents and fellow teachers attended a board meeting in Boulder Tuesday evening to slam the possible dismissal of the veteran teacher over ‘sexual harassment’ allegations, The Denver Post reported.
‘Was what happened a mistake? Yes,’ Randi Hart, a substitute teacher who previously worked alongside Roetto, told The Denver Post.
‘Should a 20-year career go down the drain because of it? No.’
This past May, a school security guard reported Roetto after a sketched out penis on a student’s form caught his eye.
The report resulted in an investigation, which found that she engaged in ‘misconduct’ and demonstrated ‘inappropriate behavior with and toward students that constitutes sexual harassment in violation of multiple board policies’.
Students spoke out to share details surrounding the day of the incident, noting that they were met with hundreds of penises drawn on the building in what may have been a senior prank.
They claimed that they suggested Roetto draw penises on their ‘check-out’ forms – documents seniors must have for graduation – in place of the appropriate stamp that she didn’t have at the time.
She agreed and proceeded to draw a penis on 10 students’ forms.
Following the investigation, Rob Anderson, the Boulder Valley Superintendent, recommended that Roetto be dismissed from the district.
But letters and testimonies from parents and former students proved that they saw the long-time teacher in a much different light.
‘Miss Roetto has spent her career speaking up for those of us who don’t have a voice,’ Jennifer Contreras Robles, a former Fairview student, told The Denver Post.
Robles, who now is a sophomore at the University of Colorado, said that Roetto was her support when she was discriminated against by another teacher. She even helped her apply to college.
‘There are real problems at Fairview, and Miss Roetto is not one of them,’ she added. ‘She is the kindest, most supportive teacher that I have had.’
Speakers at the board meeting questioned why a single mistake would lead to the district firing her.
Some even questioned if the real reason for her dismissal was her advocacy for a better school culture – noting that she supported multiple students who were victims of sexual assault.
‘I can’t help but wonder if what we’re witnessing today is retaliation for her using her voice to draw attention to these failures in our schools,’ Katherine Francis, another speaker, said.
The Boulder Valley School District settled in 2022 for $1.26 million for a federal sexual assault harassment lawsuit brought by two former Fairview High School students, The Denver Post reported.
In 2019, the school’s star quarterback was arrested on sexual assault charges, but later acquitted of the most serious charges.
Soon after, an ex-lacrosse player was convicted of sexually harassing three young women while he was a student which resulted in an internal investigation and the school’s principal retiring.
Another former football player was also convicted of attempted sexual assault after he allegedly pinned a girl to a locker at school and groped her.
Students protested the tolerance of inappropriate behavior, specifically by male athletes, and walked out of the school.
Kari Costello, a former Fairview teacher, said at the board meeting that there was a pattern of female teachers being ‘disproportionately harassed, reprimanded or punished’, and asked for an investigation into gender discrimination within the district.
‘Teachers are living in fear,’ she said.
The recommendation for dismissal wasn’t discussed by the school’s board and was instead an information item.
Roetto has been on paid leave since August 7 and did not speak at Tuesday’s board meeting.
Credit: Daily Mail
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