By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

PELHAM – Pelham City Schools hosted its annual Pelham in the Park event on Wednesday, April 30, an annual event bringing together English as a Second Language students, families and resources in the Pelham community.

Katie Harrison, an ESL instructional specialist for PCS, outlined the goals of Pelham in the Park and how the event came to life.

“Our goal is to bring our multilingual families and our community resources together to make sure that our families know what’s available in the community and to keep them involved throughout the year,” Harrison said. “Especially during the summer when we don’t necessarily have as many opportunities to have interaction with our families and to share those resources with them in person.”

The initiative began in 2021, when Pelham was hit with severe tornado damage. According to Harrison, plenty of multilingual families were hit by the tornado and were subsequently assisted by Pelham’s ESL department.

“We (then) expanded it into a community resource fair and a district-wide service project because we have educators from all departments and students from (across the system) come together to make it happen,” Harrison said. “We have donations from about 10 to 12 sponsors every year, and then we have about 50 door prizes every year that are donated by our local businesses.”

According to Harrison, the importance of the event comes from accessibility being a recurring problem for multilingual families, with PCS bridging the gaps created by language barriers and making resources accessible to families across Pelham.

The event contains a plethora of resources and organizations for Pelham’s ESL students and families, including wellness organizations, faith-based organizations and the National Weather Service.

“Sometimes our families who don’t speak English don’t fully understand Alabama weather,” Harrison said. “We have a lot of families that live in mobile homes, and so it’s very important that they understand the safety and what is available to help keep their family safe when we do have weather events.”

Other groups represented included the Pelham Rec Center, therapy services for families with disabilities and a Spanish-speaking Alcoholics Anonymous group.

“The whole point of events like Pelham in the Park is for families to know it’s there,” Harrison said. “(We) want to serve all groups in our community, but sometimes all groups don’t know what’s available.”

For more information on Pelham City Schools, visit Pelhamcityschools.org.