KERSHAW COUNTY, S.C. — National Hispanic Heritage Month is the month beginning September 15th and ending October 15th. Two teachers are working highlight the month at Camden High School.
Arisledia De Guzman Mercado and Aurea Rodriguez are two special education teachers who have transformed the hallways of Camden High School to showcase Hispanic heritage.
They say bringing attention to all of the Hispanic cultures is essential for the district.
“We try to represent every single culture here in the school, so we put different products from Honoduros, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and it just puts a smile on my face when I see the kid recognizing those product like, "Hey, I recognize this, my mom used to do food with this!" De Guzman Mercardo said.
The two, who have known each other for 25 years and are both from Puerto Rico, have transformed a section of the hallway outside their classroom to look like home.
“This is a piece of San Juan, that is the capital of Puerto Rico. I tried to show everybody how amazing it looks,” Rodriguez said.
Instructional Assistant Casey King also transformed the rock outside, hoping to catch the eyes of those driving by. “As you can see, for Hispanic heritage, I highlighted this in yellow. I wanted to bring yellow in here because a lot of the flags have yellow in it, as well as bringing in all of the other colors of the flags of the countries.”
Students have also spent time researching important Hispanic leaders and immersing themselves in the culture to focus on inclusion.
"We want everyone who is in here to feel included, not just welcome. We want everyone to feel included,” De Guzman Mercado said.
Other schools in the district have also decorated to celebrate.