Teacher’s daughter protested with mom during ’94 strike; now, daughter is teaching, and mom protesting with her.

Now their roles on the picket line are reversed

Letty Gonzales has been on the picket lines before, walking with teachers as they chant for better pay.

At 17, she walked out of a classroom, taking a “bunch” of her classmates with her as she joined her mother and the other educators participating in Denver’s 1994 teachers strike.

She was a junior at John F. Kennedy High School then. Charlene Gonzales, who was teaching at College View Elementary School, didn’t know her daughter planned to join the teachers until she showed up on the picket lines.

Now, Letty Gonzales is a second-grade teacher at Traylor Academy — and mother and daughter are striking again.

“For us, it’s about supporting the kids,” she said, adding later: “It’s sad to me that we have to do this 25 years later.”

The teachers strike marked its second day on Tuesday, with demonstrations by teachers, parents and students taking place across the city. As teachers carried signs, Denver Public Schools and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association renewed their negotiations over wages.

Letty and Charlene Gonzales started the day by protesting at Traylor before moving to the intersection of Sheridan Boulevard and Dartmouth Avenue. The pair was joined by teachers from seven schools, including John F. Kennedy High School and Bear Valley International School.

Letty Gonzales, 42, wore a red shirt that said “Fight for the thing you care about” and carried a sign.

One side of the sign said, “I Did the Math and these Numbers Just Don’t Add Up!,” while the other referenced singer Johnny Cash.

It’s harder striking this time, she said, because she supports herself financially and teachers don’t get paid while they are striking.

Gonzales might not be able to make her mortgage payment if the strike drags on much longer, but her parents are supporting her decision to walk the picket line, she said.

“I always have her back,” said Charlene Gonzales, 65, who retired in 2005. “She has mine, and I have hers.”

“It was unspoken; we know that we needed to support each other,” Letty Gonzales added. “I was there for her, and she didn’t ask me to go out.”

Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post Teachers and supporters march to Civic Center park from North High School on Tuesday to participate in a rally during the second day of the Denver Public Schools teachers strike.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post Retired educator Charlene Gonzales, left, stands with her daughter, second-grade teacher Letty Gonzales, in Denver on Tuesday. Mother and daughter have supported each other when each was on strike.