FARMINGTON — A student-led public rally in support of Maine teachers and education takes place Thursday, March 24, at the University of Maine.

A group of UMF secondary education majors have pulled together to organize, invite speakers and spread the word about the rally, Grace Kendall, a student organizer said.

Planned from 5 to 6 p.m. on South Street, which will be blocked to traffic during the event, the rally occurs on the same day Gov. Paul LePage is scheduled to visit a political science course on campus in an unrelated event, she said.

“His appearance was the catalyst but we haven’t approached him (about attending) and don’t plan to,” she said.

Several students showed their support for education at the Capitol a couple weeks ago including organizer Grady Burns, a former Edward Little student, who will emcee Thursday’s rally here.

There’s been so much being said lately on a national level about education and teacher salaries, it seems like education isn’t as valued as it used to be, Kendall said.

“We hope we can show people education is supported and is important. We want to get across that teachers are working really hard to make sure students have a good education and so are we,” she said. “This is the field we’ve chosen for our lives.”

After working in area schools paired with mentors, about 10 sophomore education students saw how hard teachers work and realized how hard they themselves worked to help them, she said.

While the rally will serve as a counter voice to much of the current rhetoric against teachers and public schools, the focus is on showing support for the work that Maine teachers do.

Guest speakers including Andrea Bryant, Student Education Association of Maine president, and others from local communities will discuss issues such as proposed pension changes and the necessity of attracting and holding on to new educators, according to a news release on the rally.

Organizers are still lining up speakers and would like to have a public high school student and parent speak, she said.

For more information about the rally or for those interested in speaking, please email [email protected].

The group has been networking on Facebook and has about 80 who confirmed their plans to attend. People are welcome to come, she said.

[email protected]