On October 14, one day before the end of Hispanic Heritage Month, the halls of Orange High School were filled with students, parents, and teachers for the fourth annual “Empowering” Hispanic cultural celebration, organized by the Orange County School District in collaboration with the county government.
Art projects, crafts, Hispanic soccer team jerseys, and even a Day of the Dead altar were displayed on the tables, while students played bingo and toured the exhibits with their parents.
The teachers, meanwhile, proudly observed their students' work. Among them were Sarah Woody and Robyn Musser, first-grade teachers at Grady Brown Elementary School, standing in front of a large mural painted by their six-year-old students.
Created in collaboration with the school's art teacher, Woody says the mural was inspired by the work of Mexican-American artist Rafael López and the community murals he created in San Diego.
“Part of our curriculum involves reading a book about the artist Rafael López and the beautiful murals he created in San Diego to unite the community,” Woody told Enlace Latino NC. The lesson inspired his students to create the mural behind him, a work that represents their own community.
This was one of many projects presented that afternoon, showcasing how Orange County teachers are incorporating Hispanic heritage into their classrooms. The activities spanned various subjects and grade levels, aiming to connect learning with students' experiences and knowledge.
Beyond elementary school grades
Cultural integration also extends to science classes. Andromeda Crowell, a tenth-grade biology teacher at Orange High School, sought to connect the state curriculum with her students' experiences.
Crowell explained that her classes have a large number of Hispanic and multilingual students; therefore, she wanted to directly incorporate Hispanic heritage into the state science curriculum, linking plant roots and ecological symbiosis with human roots and cultural interdependence.
“I was inspired by my students, who come from different countries, and by my desire to get them involved,” Crowell explained to Enlace Latino NC.
By assigning them research projects on organisms, flora, and fauna of Latin America, her students were able to share knowledge about environments that are already familiar to them. This transforms them from passive listeners into “classroom experts,” according to the teacher.
“Sometimes, especially when [students] are still developing their English proficiency, they feel they can’t participate as much as their classmates. That’s why this activity gives them a way to contribute and feel like they have some control over their own learning,” Crowell explained.
Through projects like these, teachers aim to help students recognize the value of their knowledge and experiences, and to enable them to share these with their peers and communities.
But this work is not limited to Orange County. About two hours south, in Robeson County, a network of multilingual (ML) educators has found ways to incorporate their students' cultural experiences into the school curriculum.
Migration stories within the classroom
In Robeson County, a network of ML educators from elementary, middle, and high schools addressed the integration of Hispanic heritage from another perspective: migration as a natural process that connects people and transforms communities.
With her project “Migration and pollination: redefining heritage from a global phenomenological perspective”, The teachers reframed human displacement not as a political debate, but as a natural process in their classes.
“Each classroom is, quite simply, an opportunity and a safe space for everyone to reflect on the implications of moving from one place to another. Therefore, we try to teach all students in our county that migration is a natural process,” said Sandra López, a member of the English Language Learner Support Staff in Robenson County.
Enlace Latino NC He spoke with eight of the teachers who participated in activities related to the project in their respective school communities.
At Lumberton Senior High School, for example, teacher Carlos Duangas asked his students to interview community members who had immigrated to the United States. The goal was to learn about their journeys and the contributions they have made to society.
“We emphasize the value of diversity because all my students have the opportunity to properly interview family members, friends, and acquaintances,” Duangas explained.
The project directly involved 72 multilingual high school students taking biology courses and language support classes.
Like this initiative, other projects sought to highlight the culture and roots of the students, giving them a central place in the learning process.
The impact of projects that include Hispanic heritage in school curricula
Although the activities were different, the teachers agreed that addressing students' cultural experiences can open spaces for dialogue, participation, and mutual recognition.
“These kinds of stories or projects help us to properly understand, value, and build a better and more inclusive society,” Duangas said.
For Laura Barrera, a teacher at St. Pauls Middle School, an activity in which her seventh-grade students reflected on migration allowed her to see how these conversations could generate new perspectives among the students.
As part of the exercise, he asked his students to create posters based on the question: What does migration contribute?
One of them replied that migration brings friends.
“And she said, ‘You know, teacher? I think migration brings friends.’ And I asked her, ‘Why do you think it brings friends?’ So she said, ‘I have many friends here and, even though I don’t understand what they’re saying, we try to do our best,’” Barrera recounts.
For the teacher, the response was an opportunity for her students to reflect on the positive aspects of migration and the connections they can build even when language barriers exist.
From first-grade murals in Orange County to migrant interviews in Robeson, the projects showcase different ways in which teachers incorporate their students' experiences into learning.
Beyond the celebrations of Hispanic Heritage Month, these initiatives raise a question for classrooms throughout the school year: what changes when students can also contribute their own histories, knowledge, and cultures to what they learn?
According to Crowell, the impact is significant. “It’s worthwhile because it’s something truly important for students; it helps them become more involved in what they learn and, moreover, to apply that knowledge to the outside world, thus giving authenticity to the learning,” he said.
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