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Copperas Cove ISD Multicultural Festival celebrates diversity, giving support to bilingual & ESL students

Posted at 10:53 PM, Jan 19, 2023
and last updated 2023-01-21 12:06:31-05

It’s not easy moving to a different school in a different place and fitting in.

Just imagine what it’s like if you move to a different school in a different country speaking a different language.

With 34 different languages spoken across come Copperas Cove ISD, communicating be a tough.

“The challenges are there when you move in to the states for anybody. The fears are there," said Jaime Ibarra, who has bilingual students in CCISD.

“There’s a readjusting period — even with the building itself," said CCISD Director Of Emergent Bilingual Rita Alaniz. "They need to know where the restrooms are. They need to know where the library is at. They need to learn how to talk to lunch people to know what it is that they’re eating."

It’s why the district is holding their inaugural Multicultural Festival — to showcase all the district’s resources and programs to help their children excel in the classroom.

“This event will bring everybody together from different schools. They’ll see that they’re not the only ones in that program. They’ll see kids from other countries they are going to the same development, " said Ibarra.

“They’ll be leaving with information. Power points to links and helpful videos. We also want them to just kind of mingle and get to know one another," said Alaniz.

Copperas Cove ISD also invited several performers from different backgrounds to dance, sing and and more. All to show their students no matter what language you speak everyone can learn.

“Given the dedication that they have squash is that fear for the kiddos. They see the first few weeks and they say, 'Hey I can do this,'" said Ibarra.