Thursday was supposed to be the first day of school in Galesburg. But the second day of a teacher strike put that on hold.
Galesburg students rallied outside District 205 offices on Thursday.
They're concerned that a prolonged strike will force the Silver Streaks to forfeit football games and other activities.
"I can't wait for school to start, " said senior Macy Steck, 17. "It's really important to get senior year, so I can go off to college."
"We're all standing here cheering and wanting to school to start," added senior Megan Gugliotta, 17.
The Board of Education wants to resume talks with a federal mediator next week.
Teachers don't want to wait that long. They want to pick up talks with a new proposal without a mediator to settle the strike.
"We want to get back in the classroom as soon as we can," said teacher Tami Qualls. "We want to establish normalcy for our students."
Galesburg teachers plan to hold a rally for students on Friday evening, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., at Lincoln Park Shelter in Galesburg.