Oakland School to Present ‘Día de los Muertos’ Altar for Victims of Earthquake in Perú

Oakland, CA, October 28, 2007 -- This Sunday, Escuela Bilingüe Internacional, a bilingual school in Oakland, will present an altar honoring the victims of a deadly earthquake in Perú. The altar, which will include handmade art and messages written by the children as well as actual Peruvian artifacts from the school’s teachers, will be on display at the EBI booth at the Día de los Muertos Festival in the Fruitvale section of Oakland.

The festival (http://www.unitycouncil.org/ddlm/index.htm) will take place on International Boulevard between Fruitvale Avenue and 40th Avenue and in the Fruitvale Village Plaza. EBI’s booth will be located on International Boulevard, cross street 38th. Parents and children from the school will be at the booth between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.. Generally, the event attracts about 100,000 people.

"As concerned citizens of the world, Escuela Bilingüe Internacional will join in solidarity with Perú this Día de los Muertos to forge a bond with the people and show them we care," said Berta Ortega-Plate, EBI’s preschool director who spearheaded the project. "Many families in Perú are suffering the losses of loved ones, homes and entire communities. Through their flowers, art and messages, the children at EBI want to share with Perú and the world their compassion for those who lost their homes and schools in the earthquake."

The children had many questions about the disaster and even made cards, which EBI will mail to a school in Canete, Perú.

"The feeling expressed by the children when they heard about what happened in Perú was that we needed to help them," Ortega-Plate said. "We needed to build them new houses, new schools and make sure that the children there are not afraid. What we want to say is that here in EBI in the city of Oakland, California, the children and teachers are thinking of them."

EBI (www.ebinternacional.org) is the first independent Spanish-English dual-immersion program in the state of California. EBI's nonprofit mission is to provide an excellent Spanish-English bilingual education based on the highest international academic standards in an environment that thrives on diversity, fosters global citizenship, and develops the character necessary to recognize that cultural uniqueness is the touchstone of our common humanity.

There are 112 students enrolled in pre-primary, kindergarten and first grade at the school, which is in its second year of operation. The school plans to add an additional grade each year until it reaches 8th grade.

In a dual immersion setting, the children are in a Spanish-only environment in the pre-primary grades. They receive one hour of English instruction in Kindergarten and 1st grade, and two hours in 2nd grade, after, which they will be taught half their subjects in Spanish and the rest in English. The program ensures that children gain native fluency in both languages by the 8th grade.

For more information, please contact Elisa Batista at ebatista at ebinternacional.org or (415) 305-6217.