SOUTH HADLEY — Students and alumni of Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School gathered in front of the school Friday afternoon in support of a favorite teacher.

The purpose? Protesting against the school’s alleged plans of terminating English teacher Lewis Goff.

“PVPA has trained us to fight injustice wherever we find it,” read an online petition from the Class of 2017. “Today we choose to fight injustice at PVPA.”

Although the status of Goff’s position is not public, students wrote “we are aware of complaints about the way he has not returned work and entered grades in the fall semester.”

It’s unclear whether Goff’s job is actually at risk.

“PVPA, and the PVPA administration, including myself, never comment on any staff member’s employment status,” said Scott Goldman, PVPA’s head of school. “To do so would be a violation of the law regarding confidentiality.”

Anthony Howes, a 2015 graduate from the school, said about 200 alumni have joined a group to advocate for the teacher.

“He taught me to think differently, to love books, and to write essays,” Rebeccah Szczygiel, a 2012 graduate, wrote on the petition’s page. “Without Lewis’s help I probably would not be the writer I am today.”

Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.

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