The protest was sparked by Dr. Lavonne Sheffield's decision to remove Auburn's principal Dr. Richard Jancek. Parents of Auburn students should have received this letter in the mail today justifying the change in leadership. But students say the replacement should have been explained to them much sooner and more clearly.

At 9:25 this morning, the final morning bell rang, but over 200 students refused to attend class. The group marched from the school's front entrance, through the snow, crossed Auburn Street, and then proceeded to chant demands about reinstating Jancek.

This continued until 10:15 when Jancek's replacement Dr. Patrick Hardy came outside to address the protesters. He told the students he understood why they were upset and that he appreciated the peaceful way in which they had assembled. He implored them to come in out of the cold and head to the auditorium where he would answer their questions. The students went in without a fight, but the ordeal was far from over.

"We don't think Dr. Jancek should be the one being vilified. He should not be the scapegoat and right now he is the scapegoat so we're just trying to show how strongly we disagree with that." said senior Zahed Hasech.

"Just seeing the student body come together...this is what Auburn High School can do if we're organized. There's no violence. Everyone is here for a good cause and I think we're handling it very well." says senior Carly Torre.

Many students were not satisfied with Hardy's explanations. So about 50 drove to the school administration building to protest in the parking lot demanding to speak with Sheffield. The superintendent was not in the building, but administrators invited the students in so they could ask their questions.

The students elected four representatives to meet with Sheffield next Monday. Those representatives stayed behind to explain the groups concerns to the media while everyone else went back to school.

Although Sheffield was not available for comment Wednesday due to a personal emergency, school officials did respond to the protests.

Executive Director of Rockford Schools Earl Hernandez says after the students were brought inside to the auditorium, they continued their peaceful protest. No students were punished for participating in the walk out.

Chief of Student Support Services Colleen Cyrus says the students demonstrating at the administration building were well managed, orderly and very adult in their behavior. They raised their hands, took turns asking questions, and respectfully demanded answers.

Hernandez said he would have done the same thing had he been in their position. The students wanted to know why they were left out of the loop.

"Why did it have to happen now? Why couldn't they have been told ahead of time? We tried to answer those questions as clearly and concisely as we could, that it was a personnel issue and we couldn't let them know ahead of time." says Cyrus.

Cyrus and Hernandez say the students seem to be satisfied with their Monday meeting with Sheffield and they are not expecting any more protests or demonstrations.