Project Together: A Legacy of Voices at Beville Middle School
Stuart M. Beville Middle School, within Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS), hosted Project Together: A Storytelling Night on April 29, 2026. This event featured multilingual learners from Mr. Nicolas Araya Collarte’s ESOL classes, who shared lived experiences from their home countries and the profound changes they encountered while transitioning to life in the United States.
Multilingual families, teachers, and administrators from the Beville Middle School community and PWCS gathered to listen intently as students brought vivid memories to the surface. These stories were the culmination of an identity exploration writing project, resulting in Together, Volume 1—a collection of personal memoirs co-constructed by students and their families. As these empowered voices spoke out, their stories resonated deeply within the hearts of everyone present.
The Heart of the Project
To bring this collection to life, Mr. Araya guided his students through a unit titled “Places We Call Home.” Students interviewed family members to explore themes of:
- Heritage: Stories of home and ancestral roots.
- The Journey: Experiences of migration and separation.
- Character: Examples of immense courage and resilience.
“Together is now a legacy in the making—a project that will grow and evolve at Beville Middle School,” Mr. Araya shared. “This Volume 1 is a collection of voices that deserves to be heard.”
A Collaborative Effort
The project’s success was rooted in professional collaboration. Funded by Advancing Content-Integrated Education for English Learners with a STEM Focus (ACE-STEM), a National Professional Development (NPD) grant project from the Department of Education (DOE), Mr. Araya consulted for guidance and support from ACE-STEM’s research and academic team to develop this Multilingual Family Transliteracies Project (MFPT). Additionally, Mr. Araya reached out to Ms. Janira Collado-Toro, who previously completed two MFTPs during Years 3 and 4 with the support of ACE-STEM, and discussed how best to carry out her impactful model at Beville.
This successful debut marks the beginning of a meaningful tradition. May such efforts to celebrate student identity and family literacy continue to spread throughout Prince William County Public Schools!
