So an idea was born...an Annual Spanish Spelling Bee at W.M. Irvin Elementary school!
I immediately shared the idea with our technology facilitator, Crystal Turney, who was very supportive and joined me plan our very first competition.
We made the announcement and invited all students in grades 3 to 5 to participate. We were very surprised with the response since we had never done it before; students didn't know what to expect but they were curious about it.  

Our 2017 competition was such a great success that we decided to do it again in 2018! This year, of course, we had a lot more students to participate. We had three rounds of eliminations before getting to the finals. We had 17 students in the finals!!! All students were very well prepared and super excited to participate. 

Process: 

• We make the announcement about six weeks before the date of the competition.
• Students who are interested receive the list of words (see below) an average of 80-100 words chosen from the National Spelling Bee list. They also receive the rules to follow the day of the competition.
• Students practice on their own for two weeks. After these two weeks, we assess them to see if they can: 1) say the letters of the alphabet in Spanish; 2) Can they write the given word is Spanish (at least get close enough).
• Students who make it to the competition practice with the moderator for 10-15 every day. Read and spell the words chorally. 
• Depending on the number of students participating we decide how many eliminations to do before the big day...(10-15 students for the competition would do)
• Students who make it to the competition day receive this invitation a couple of weeks before the event. 
• The day of the competition we invite community professionals to serve as judges. We normally have 4-5 judges. 
• Each judge receives the list of words selected for the competition. List 1 and List 2 
• All grade levels are invited to join us and watch the competition.

A fun way to practice the last two weeks leading to the big day is by cutting out all the words in strips and crumble up each word. Students take turns picking out an unknown word and spell it out loud.  
P.S. students are allowed to write the word before spelling it. I provide dry erase boards and markers during practice days. 

The logistic behind this event is to provide an opportunity for our English learners to demonstrate their language asset. We want our students to know that being bilingual is very important.  
Our greatest joy is watching our students being so proud representing their grade level.
Watch our 2018 competition in the youtube video below.

Perez crowned Spanish Spelling Bee winner for second year
Elementary school holds first Spanish Spelling Bee

Thank you for reading! 

​If you know me well, you'd know how much I advocate for family engagement and family support to ensure student success. Ever since I started working for our school system I've organized ESL family nights to provide educational interventions aimed at promoting student success. 
One reason why I feel strongly about family engagement is that it is something I felt I didn't have when attending school in the US. 
Another reason was and still is because of the vast demands our schools have of our students and family support to ensure student academic success. 

Just last week I thought about starting a blog in Spanish to provide "adequate" support and strategies that Latinxs parents and readers can use to utilize to support students academic success.

Though my intentions are not bad - as a matter fact, I have great intentions to support families  - I started thinking about the core of my intentions. You see, I began these family meeting with our ESL families because I questioned or perhaps devalued ESL families' competence to support their children at home. I know this sounds wrong - and it is! However, I need to be honest with myself and the families I serve; and understanding the reason why I do what I do is imperative. 

Reading these two novels made me think of a book I read a few years ago while getting my graduate ESL degree. Con Respeto by Guadalupe Váldes is a study that brings to life the everyday worlds of 10 newly arrived immigrant Mexican families. The core of this book and the two novels I mentioned above is to showcase immigrants' family life as a great resource. 

As an educator, I see my colleagues and school systems well-meaning intentions in creating and providing educational interventions aimed at promoting school success based on teacher knowledge and based on school context - but not based on parent knowledge. 

You see, instead of looking at our families' childrearing styles as a deficit, we can start by changing the way we look at our ESL families' parental knowledge. 

• Our families have deeply ingrained family values
• They bring goals
• Life plans
• Experiences (practical knowledge)
• Cultural knowledge
• Sense of identity 

Just because our ESL families do not follow the "standard" American family childrearing way, does not mean they are doing it wrong. 

From now on I want to make sure my families are being honored for who they are. My teacher knowledge must increase in cultural understanding to be able to embrace and maintain a comfortable environment for my ESL families and my students. 
The support and tools I will be presenting my ESL parents from now on, will  NOT be with the idea of changing who they are or devaluing their family support. 
My ideas and tools will now be to provide parents with the tools they need to navigate the standard and expectation our schools in the US hold. 

My ultimate intention, as well as our ESL families' intention, is to support our students in becoming successful adults, who although they find themselves between two words, may they be empowered to be the best they can be to represent their two worlds. 

I would love to know your thoughts on this topic! Please share your comments and lets continue learning together.
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​Thank you for reading!