MISD hosts celebration

Posted 5/18/23

Mineola ISD welcomed more than 200 Spanish-speaking parents and guardians to its first fiesta event on Cinco de Mayo. The event was exclusively in Spanish with several community organizations …

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MISD hosts celebration

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Mineola ISD welcomed more than 200 Spanish-speaking parents and guardians to its first fiesta event on Cinco de Mayo. The event was exclusively in Spanish with several community organizations providing representatives and Spanish materials for the attendees.

The event, in the middle school cafeteria, began with a welcome by district Bilingual/ESL Coordinator Annette Pecorino, who organized the event.

“I am so excited you are all here,” she said. “This event is all about you. We want you to know that we care about you and your children. We are going to give you information, food, entertainment and prizes.”

She also thanked Superintendent Cody Mize, without whom none of the event would have been possible.

The keynote speaker, Emigdio Rosales of Iglesias Law Firm, discussed immigration law and updates. After his presentation he was met with several questions from numerous attendees. He and many other community resource organizations had free materials and representatives to provide information and services.

They included Hand Up Network, Literacy Council of Tyler, MISD Adult ESL classes, Estepoder.org and Sand Springs Baptist Church.

After a short break, the Padres Presentes organization provided a video in Spanish about how to protect children online, including methods to teach parents traps and tricks of online predators, navigating difficult conversations on cell phones and social media, and factual information about how popular social media applications are used to exploit children and teens.

Attendees were provided a meal of quesadillas, beans and rice, chips and homemade green and red salsa, along with a drink catered by Cynthia Hernandez Catering Services. Silvia Reyes and the Folkloric Legacy of Mineola dance group performed authentic folkloric dances. More than 30 donated gift cards and other prizes were randomly distributed after the dance. 

“I am so thankful to belong to a community who supports this district as well as it does,” Mize said. “Because of all our donors and sponsors, we can provide our Spanish-speaking parents a way to connect to our district and feel comfortable coming to us with any questions or concerns.”

Pecorino, who is also bilingual, said, “I hope we can provide this every year for our Spanish-speaking families. I know it must be intimidating trying to enter a building and communicate with someone who doesn’t know your language, so I want the families to know we are here to help and to provide the best education we can not only for their children, but also for them.”

The event also provided free childcare by primary school teacher Stacey Wedding and several members of the high school FFA program under the direction of MISD ag teacher Rocio Martinez.