Esbaide Soria Yhamel working with Jennifer Torres on a craft project.
Ryan lely/Sonoma Valley Sun
CommonBond Foundation
Many Sonoma Valley children are enjoying the presence this summer of an energetic and passionate visiting teacher from the state of Michoacan. Every year since the mid-80s, the Secretary of Public Education of Mexico exports some of Mexico’s finest teachers to the United States to work with the children of migrant workers. Esbaide Soria Yhamel, native of Morelia and resident of Uruapan, in Michoacan, has come to our valley for five weeks, bringing her specialization in language through traditional folk art projects, therapeutic activities, and traditional dance. The Migrant Education Office in Santa Rosa reported that there are approximately 215 migrant children in Sonoma Valley schools — more than half of whom are from Michoacan.
Maestra Esbaide talks about the satisfaction of “sowing the seed of cultural identity in the children, and teaching them the importance of always having a goal in life.”
Collaborating with the Sonoma Valley Unified School District, Migrant Ed sends Maestra Esbaide daily to Flowery School, site of one of the district’s summer schools. There this dynamic teacher works with the whole class in the many different classrooms where migrant students are enrolled. She also offers a weekly series of workshops open to all parents on topics including how to support their children’s school work, and health and nutrition. In the afternoons she is presently bringing crafts and activities to children at the Boys and Girls Club Valley of the Moon, Springs Village unit. When CommonBond’s English Camp opens on July 9, Esbaide will be there to work with the English learners.
Esbaide Soria Yhamel, whose name reflects her Lebanese ancestry, is one of 13 teachers who have come to northern California as participants in the bi-national teacher program, sponsored by the Mexican government in collaboration with Migrant Education, a U.S. government program. The principal goal of the program is to promote the success of all migrant children, whether here or in Mexico. In addition to the teachers, Mexico has also sent two dentists to provide services to migrant workers and their children. Señora Soria says of this binational teacher program that it “has been an excellent means of creating a connection between Mexico and its people who are seeking something for their lives here in the United States.”
