Journal & Topics Media Group

Teatro Leyden Program Brings Accolades To District


Teatro Leyden’s most recent production, “ÀEs la Vida un Sue–o?” (“Is Life a Dream?”) debuted in March and included Spanish-speaking and English-speaking casts. Thespians pictured (from l. to r.): Paulina Walczak, Tori Novak, Josh Dempsey and Abram Reyes.

Leyden High School Dist. 212 recently joined two other school districts from across the country in being named a grand prize winner of the 24th annual Magna Awards for its Teatro Leyden program.

The Magna Awards recognize school districts from all corners of the country that are actively working to eliminate barriers in their schools by providing education equity, especially for underserved students. Leyden’s Teatro theatre program stages the same play in both English and Spanish.

Leyden was selected by a panel of judges including educators, administrators and school board member who evaluated more than 100 applications.

“Educational equity is a crucial issue today,” Thomas J. Gentzel, executive director and CEO of the National School Boards Association, said in a statement. “These Magna Award winning districts are examples of how public schools all over the country are making sure each of their students get the support and services they need to succeed in school and in life.”

Leyden will be recognized as a grand prize winner during the National School Boards Association annual conference in April in San Antonio, TX.

Teatro Leyden provides Spanish speaking students the chance to perform in Spanish, while giving their parents the opportunity to see plays in their first language.

This year’s Teatro Leyden production ran Feb. 22 through Feb. 24. “Es La Vida Un Sueno/Is Life a Dream?” examined a variety of scenarios concerning dreams and the connection between dreams and realities.

“[Students were] excited by the idea of doing a show that’s more than just telling a story but reaching out to a community and sharing a language and a culture,” said Leyden Theatre Guild sponsor Mark Bernstein. “The idea [is] that we’re more similar than different, and things like dreams are a great equalizer.”

He said non-Spanish speakers in the community welcome the chance to explore another culture and support their Spanish-speaking neighbors. Those who do speak Spanish appreciate the seeing their language and culture celebrated on the Dist. 212 stage.

Leyden has a large Spanish-speaking population between its two high schools. During Teatro Leyden shows, some of the students who speak both English and Spanish perform in both of the productions. Students who speak only English also appear in the Spanish version in non-speaking roles.

“We have a large Spanish-speaking population in our district and we wanted to reach out to them (and) show them we value the Spanish language and culture,” Bernstein said in February.

The Magna Awards are sponsored by the National School Boards Association and the organization’s magazine, American School Board Journal. Leyden joined Red Clay Consolidated School District in Wilmington, Delaware, and Newport News Public Schools in Newport News, Virginia, in claiming this year’s top honors. Leyden won in the under 5,000 student category. Awards are additional given for enrollment of 5,000 to 20,000 and enrollment over 20,000 categories.

Leyden and the Teatro Leyden program are featured in the April edition of the American School Board Journal.

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