Parents defend Colorado teacher who drew penises on forms

They say she is the complete package!

Students and parents defended a longtime Colorado teacher who could lose her job for drawing cartoon penises in yearbooks — saying she was an “unwavering source of support” who should not receive support from administrators.

Supporters of Fairview High School teacher Rebecca Roetto flocked to a school board meeting in Boulder Tuesday night to denounce the longtime welfare teacher’s firing over “sexual harassment” allegations as fabricated and completely insane, The Denver Post reported.

“Miss Roetto has spent her entire career speaking out for those of us who have no voice,” said former student Jennifer Contreras Robles, who is now a sophomore at the University of Colorado.

“There are real problems at Fairview, and Miss Roetto is not one of them. She is the kindest, most supportive teacher I have had.”

Roetto, who teaches Wellness in Action and yoga and bowling classes, is accused of drawing sausages on the school forms of ten students, along with some yearbooks as an apparent prank in May.

The day she drew them, students had come to class to find dozens of penises scrawled on the building – possibly a prank on the grad students.

Later in the day, Roetto didn’t have a stamp she needed to mark a “checkout” form for the seniors’ graduation — so students joked that she should just draw a penis in place, speakers at the meeting said.

She playfully agreed, but a school security guard saw one and reported it.

She was placed on paid leave in August following an investigation by the school district, according to the newspaper.

The district found that she engaged in “misconduct” and engaged in inappropriate behavior toward students “that amounts to sexual harassment,” the newspaper said.

“Is what happened a mistake? Yes,” said Randi Hart, who worked at Roetto as a substitute teacher. Should a career of twenty years be lost because of this? No.”

Parent Katherine Francis also defended Roetto during the meeting, saying her advocacy for students — and criticism of the school culture — could be the real reason she was punished.

“I wonder if what we are seeing today is retaliation for her using her voice to draw attention to these failures in our schools,” Francis said.

She said Roetto had been bold enough to support students who were victims of sexual abuse and had recently called for more transparency at the school.

Other speakers described Roetto as an “unwavering source of support” for children and said a stupid mistake should not lead to her dismissal.

Roetto has been on paid leave since August 7 and did not speak on Tuesday.

The issue was not on the school board’s official agenda, so board members did not comment.

Roetto also runs the school’s Adelante! program, which supports first-generation college students.