Escuela Smart Academy hosts community Latino Heritage Month fest
TOLEDO – Escuela Smart Academy, the only bilingual school within Toledo Public Schools, hosted one of its biggest family events Friday with the Fiesta Con Escuela, a celebration of Latino Heritage Month.
The event was intended to have the atmosphere of an outdoor street festival, though the weather didn’t cooperate for much of it.
Families were just arriving Friday evening under overcast skies when sprinkles of rain began. The timing of the rain resulted in dismay among the organizers, given the stretch of dry weather leading up to the festival.
“Not even a little bit of rain was in the forecast!” said Natasha Allen, principal at Escuela Smart Academy, as she huddled under shelter with staff members to make contingency plans. Amid the steady downpour, volunteers scrambled to consider what they could move into the school gym, vendors placed tarps on their tables or packed up displays, and families took shelter under an open tent or trees.
But for a half hour before the festival technically started, there was already a buzz of activity in the school’s front yard and along Field Ave.
The academy, on Western Ave. in Toledo’s Old South End, provides student instruction in both Spanish and English, with a bilingual staff among its roster. The academy became part of Toledo Public Schools in 2019; previously, the program operated as a charter school.
With its status as a district magnet school, TPS families apply for admission. Close to 300 students are enrolled this year in grades pre-K to 6, and there are waiting lists in some grades.
Escuela’s location is in a neighborhood that is home to many Spanish-speaking families. According to 2020 Census data, there are about 24,000 Hispanic/Latino people living within the city of Toledo.
“The neighborhood and the community, we’re family,” Allen said.
“We are embracing diversity – embracing the Latino culture and providing another opportunity for our students,” said Linda Ruiz-Bringman, assistant superintendent of Student, Family and Community Engagement for Toledo.
In addition, Spanish is the second most spoken language at home after English among Toledo’s families, the U.S. Census Bureau reports.
Crystal Mosqueda, who teaches Spanish to Escuela students in grades pre-K through 2, said language skills among her students vary quite a bit. Some know little to no Spanish, some know little to know English, “and everything in between.”
But the curriculum is meant to support skills in both languages, even if the students don’t yet know “how fortunate they are” to have bilingual experience.
The festival has been an annual tradition since the school opened under TPS, and is scheduled in conjunction with Latino Heritage Month, also known as Hispanic Heritage Month, observed from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15.
As the evening began, food trucks, vendor and agency information tables, a face painting table, a cake walk game, a DJ booth, dancing and a bounce house were lined up on Field Ave. in front of the school.
Members of the University of Toledo chapter of Alpha Psi Lambda, a national co-ed Latino interest fraternity, were among the volunteers setting up the cake walk game. Those students included Nya Quimbaya, who is studying social work at UT, and Erica Sacoto, studying criminal justice.
“I’m from Lorain, Ohio. We had festivals like this,” Quimbaya said as they looked over the activities setting up along the street.
Cassie Tenorio, community development manager at Girl Scouts of Western Ohio, hosted an information table on behalf of the Girl Scout council. She said there was previously a Girl Scout troop for younger girls at Escuela, and the activities included cultural celebrations, such as Dia de los Muertos. But the troop leader has since moved out of the area and Tenorio hopes to restart it.
Another information table showcased resources and activities provided at the Sofia Quintero Art & Cultural Center, which is in the neighborhood at 1222 Broadway St.
Mylicia Rangel, who is a mental health prevention support staff member at the cultural center, said the non-profit organization celebrates Latino culture through its art exhibitions, cooking classes, community garden space and related programs.
And Henry Garcia, a licensed Marketplace / Medicaid navigator with Toledo/Lucas County CareNet, made the rounds to introduce himself to those attending the festival and start conversations about low-cost health care coverage options.
He used to be a tutor at Escuela and is bilingual, so he is able to assist Spanish-speaking families from the neighborhood who may have questions about those programs.
Local officials invited to attend included Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz and Toledo Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Romules Durant.
