The answer is the Hispanic Heritage Museum created by students, parents, and teachers at Dolores Huerta Elementary in Fort Worth. I visited the museum last Thursday at the invitation of Eddie Arellano, a dual language instructor with FWISD. Mr. Arellano had previously attended our Latino Legacy Awards program on the 11th and extended an invitation to our group for this event. Representatives from both LULAC Council 4568 and the Cesar Chavez Committee attended.
We distributed children’s books to students and families who attended the event, including a family of nine. In addition, we donated three copies of our Pancho Claus original story, for a student free raffle.
The event featured students who presented their work related to Hispanic Heritage Month. Among the displays of Latino culture was a book titled “The Girl Who Became Wednesday” (Jenna Ortega), from Mr. Arellano’s second grade class. Which was a book the class read and decided to use as their contribution to event.
Below is detailed information regarding this 35-year-old program, which both celebrates Hispanic Heritage and equips students with lifelong skills. Please review the museum guide by clicking the link provided below. Additionally, in response to public demand, the exhibition has been extended for an additional week until October 30th. I recommend you visit the exhibition, which I believe is a heartwarming experience for all that attend. Thank you, Mr. Arellano, and congratulations to all the students on an outstanding exhibit that pays tribute to our Hispanic heritage.
1.What inspired the idea behind hosting a Family Hispanic Heritage Night at Dolores Huerta this year? How many years have you all had this?
Our Hispanic Heritage Student Created Museum project was created in 1990 to give FWISD elementary grade classroom teachers and their students the opportunity to research the many contributions made by Hispanic Americans in children’s literature, science, history, education and the arts.
2.How did students prepare for the event, and what kinds of projects or presentations were featured? After researching a topic, teachers plan their project with their students and create a bulletin board project/exhibit to showcase what they learned from their research readings. Our PreKinder-5th grade classroom teachers incorporate Texas state adopted reading/language arts/social studies/science TEK objectives (inquiry/research/writing skills) into their student created exhibits and projects.
About 30 classroom exhibits/projects were presented at this year’s Hispanic Heritage Student Created Museum project. Click the following link to preview our digital museum guide.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XQgmLxNgVWaGQ144lEWzTBCSA4b1VeBOCXB90dx5Mys/edit?usp=sharing
3.What impact does this project have on students and families? Since parents are invited to participate in the creation of classroom projects/exhibits, this student-led educational project has grown into a community-wide tradition year after year.
4.How does celebrating Hispanic Heritage align with the school’s values or overall mission? Mission. Preparing ALL students for success in college, career, and community leadership. Vision. Together we can build a bright future.
Our PreKinder-5th grade students plan and use research skills to create their classroom exhibit. All students learn about different careers when researching exemplary Hispanic role models in the areas of science, education, history and the arts. Classroom students also take leadership roles as museum curators/reporters for visitors to our museum.
5.Is there anything you’d like the community to know about the students’ hard work or what made this event stand out?
Click the following link to my multicultural museum project teacher blogsite:
https://multiculturalmuseumproject.blogspot.com
From our museum archives:
The rich learning experience(s) provided by the Hispanic Heritage student-created museum is a testament to the ongoing commitment and admirable teamwork by faculty and staff at Dolores Huerta. rich experiences that students will draw a lifetime of learning. Experiences like this have a special effect on the lives of students. They remember what they did and what they learned. Some students draw motivation or even new learning from it well into adulthood. Clearly, every student at Dolores Huerta will be better prepared to participate in our democratic society because of the value placed on multicultural education at the campus. My respect and appreciation goes out to you and your campus for this work.
Our library books and biographies at Dolores Huerta Elementary are an essential component to the creation of our school museum project. For example, after reading the book The Boy Who Touched the Stars, Ms. Mireles 5th grade students learned about the life of astronaut Jose M. Hernandez and his contribution to NASA; students also created a timeline and brochures with facts about this Mexican American astronaut.
5th grade student Osvaldo Chavez served as curator/reporter to the project. It was beautiful to see Osvaldo’s father stand by the hallway and watch his son give a presentation to visitors during our opening night.
Representation in library and classroom books are important. Elementary grade students need to see a version of themselves in stories and biographies to know it can be done. Thank you for sharing our project with others.
