Mario Bencastro Visits Houston Elementary

By Marcy Campos

On Friday, May 3rd, Salvadoran author Mario Bencastro visited Houston Elementary School to share his 2021 bilingual book, Un tren llamado Esperanza, or A Train Called Hope, illustrated by Robert Casilla. The visit was a collaboration between the Houston ES’s bilingual program director, Roxana Diaz-Wong, Oyster-Adams’s Bilingual School librarian, Laura Kleinmann — who has worked with Bencastro for many years — and Teaching for Change. Houston ES is one of DCPS’ fully bilingual schools, where all students learn English and Spanish. Thirty-six third graders participated in this visit, hosted in the school’s library. As they entered the space, students met Bencastro and received signed copies of his book.