MEMPHIS, Tenn. — October 15 marked the end of Hispanic Heritage Month, but celebrations continued in several Shelby County Schools Friday.
The district reported 12,846 Hispanic students were enrolled in SCS in the 2014-2015 school year.
WREG visited Sheffield Elementary, where students put on a program celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month.
About 30% of students there are Hispanic.
The school has four English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers.
In the program, students sang songs in Spanish and English. Some students wore traditional Hispanic clothes and performed cultural dances.
“What we try and do is just make it a part of our curriculum. So, as you saw on stage today, there were total classrooms speaking Spanish,” said Sheffield Elementary Principal Patricia Merriweather.
Similarly, Merriweather said Sheffield is hard at work teaching Spanish-speaking students English.
Retired teacher and volunteer Ramon Noriega was the recipient of the “Hispanic Heritage Month Hero” award this year.
He spoke with WREG about the diversity in Sheffield classrooms.
“Since I started teaching Spanish, I saw the kids get together more often. You know, Hispanic and African American and, you know, I enjoy that,” Noriega said.
He said he thinks some language barriers could factor into Sheffield’s spot on a list of six underperforming schools the state is considering taking over.
Despite challenges, Merriweather said her students made gains in reading and math in the past year.
“We are improving,” Merriweather said.
“I think that Sheffield Elementary is working really hard every day to strive to be the best that they can be. So, I think maybe as a community, take a look at understanding how much growth they’ve already had,” said SCS Board Member Miska Clay Bibbs.