Students of Latino heritage in transition grades of kindergarten, 6, 8 and 12 will be honored in the 11th Amherst Annual Latino Achievement Awards Night Friday, in a program that includes dance, music and spoken word.
AMHERST -- Students of Latino heritage in transition grades of kindergarten, 6, 8 and 12 will be honored at the 11th annual Latino Achievement Awards Night on Friday in a program that includes dance, music and spoken word.
Marta Guevara, director of Family and Student Engagement for the Amherst schools, said via email that the night was started "to explore ways to increase the academic achievement of students of Latino heritage."
According to a press release, the event "aspires toward equity in opportunity, inclusion, respect and community-building in and out of the classroom."
Latino students comprise about 20 percent of the town's elementary school population, slightly less in the regional schools because the district includes students from Leverett, Pelham and Shutesbury, where a smaller percentage of the population is Latino.
"We want to make a public statement of support to the Latino students who work hard, come to school to pursue their dream of an education to attain a better life for themselves and their families," Guevara said.
"(Many students) do this with the stress of oppressing voices and structures in our society that make it harder for them to achieve their full potential," she said. "This is especially true for our undocumented students, and we are committed to expressing our support to them and their families.
"Most of our undocumented youth have to work after school to help their families financially and have to juggle long hours at work and completing homework. Most can't do extracurricular activities such as sports and clubs because of work, so it is important to recognize their hard work and commitment to education," she said.
Guevara said the families in the schools come from all over the world, and "their contributions make our community a better place."
Carmen Cosme, coordinator for the VELA afterschool program, will be the featured speaker. The event, open to all, begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Amherst Regional Middle School.
Both the regional and Amherst school committees this year adopted a resolution to protect students and faculty from immigration raids.
Immigration officials will be refused entry to school property unless the superintendent and district counsel are provided with a warrant signed by a judge or magistrate authorizing immigration officials onto the property.
Town Meeting last week adopted a bylaw creating the town as a sanctuary community.