Walk out made Front Page!

The Walk-out I organized made the front page of the paper, and it made it into the three major papers in the state. This morning we got on an area radio show, and we showed up on NPR.  It was fantastic!

Here is the article!

Students cut class after teacher is fired

By Nick Gevock
Montana Standard

HARRISON -- Students at Harrison High School didn't do much to help their grade-point averages Tuesday.

Instead of a quiet day of lessons, 31 of the school's 42 students walked out and skipped their morning class. They huddled together in a chilly wind across the highway from the rural school holding signs and waving at passers-by to protest a popular math teacher's firing the night before by the School Board.

The students earned a zero for the day but said they didn't care.

"We don't know if this will accomplish anything, but we're showing support," said Frieda Zimmerman, a senior who organized the protest.

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One sign read "No Sonsteng, no school," and another proclaimed "Students support Sonsteng."

Marshall Walker, a sophomore, took off his T-shirt and wrote "honk" on his chest, drawing honks from semitrailers and cars driving by.

The board Monday night voted 2-1 not to rehire Donald "Rex" Sonsteng, who has taught math at the school for two years. Board members Linda Dyk and Mary Lou Freese voted not to renew Sonsteng's contract; board member Frank Valvo voted to keep him.

Sonsteng is recovering at a care center in Helena from injuries to both knees he suffered last month during a charity basketball game in Boulder. He could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

The timing of the board's decision is unfortunate because of Sonsteng's injury, Superintendent Dan Rask said. But under state law, the school had to notify Sonsteng whether it would rehire him for next year.

Rask said the board was following his recommendation that Sonsteng, who did not have tenure, not be rehired for next school year. The board under state law does not have to give a cause for letting a nontenured teacher go.

But Zimmerman said the decision smacks of trying to get back at Sonsteng after a year of tense negotiations over teacher salaries between the board and the teachers' union. The two parties settled on a two-year contract this winter that included raises after a year of discussions, including mediation.

Senior student Krissy Koosmann said the fact that many students complained about Sonsteng for his tough discipline in class may have made him an easy target.

Many of those same students, however, have gained respect for Sonsteng since he's been gone because they're not learning any math, Koosmann said.

"He's an awesome teacher," Koosmann said. "He just demands respect from students, but he's always willing to re-explain things."