On a warm Sunday in September, thousands filled Main Street in Springfield, MA for the city’s 35th annual Puerto Rican Day Parade. More than 100 groups participated in the parade, including many of Springfield’s schools. Marching proudly alongside the Freedman Elementary School community were City Connects Program Manager Stephanie Sanabria and City Connects Coordinator Dionisio Perez.
“The parade puts the culture on display in such a vibrant way, with music, dance, community organizations, athletic teams, and schools. It’s a great way for people to come together in such a positive way. It was really special.” said Sanabria.
The parade kicked off a slew of Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations in Springfield, where nearly 70 percent of students are Hispanic or Latino. The City Connects team—which supports 40 schools in Springfield—has spent the last month shining a light on the many Spanish-speaking cultures that make the Springfield community so vibrant.
“Our school community here in Springfield represents all these different cultures that make up what it means to be Hispanic. We have families from many Spanish-speaking cultures including Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Ecuador, and El Salvador,” Sanabria said. “Celebrating the richness of all our different Spanish-speaking countries here is so important.”
Sanabria herself has been visiting Springfield schools to teach Zumba classes, each with a special focus on a different Spanish-speaking culture. In addition to enjoying music and movement, students learn about the featured culture, discussing its history, geography, flag, and native animals.
As part of the month’s celebrations, several schools brought in local dance and music group Bomba de Aquí to perform and teach Afro-Puerto Rican traditions.
“Music and dance are so important to so many cultures. You can really feel the energy and the culture come alive. Bringing awareness and appreciation to the beautiful diversity of cultures in Springfield enriches the lives of all our students and our community as a whole,” said Sanabria.
Danielle Mitchell, City Connects Coordinator at the Dorman School in Springfield, says her school highlighted Hispanic culture of the past and present in many ways. In addition to Zumba lessons and a visit from Bomba de Aqui, the Dorman hosted a Hispanic Heritage Parade and had a visit from State Representative Orlando Ramos who read the story of Roberto Clemente to second grade students.
Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations are an important example of the City Connects model of Integrated Student Support, an approach that centers and taps into the strengths of each community.
“It’s about celebrating the strengths of our community, of our students, of our families,” said Sanabria. “But it isn’t confined to a month. This month highlights the important work we need to do to celebrate and support families throughout the year.”
Sanabria adds that uplifting the many cultures of Springfield’s students and families is more important now than ever.
“In the times we’re living in, there is a fear that lives with many of our immigrant families,” Sanabria said.
“For us to acknowledge the vibrancy of the cultures that exist here is so important. These might be some scary times but we want our students and families to know that we see you, we acknowledge you, and we want to celebrate you.”
