ZEBULON - Zebulon Elementary Principal Marion Evans recently was honored by the Wake County Public School System for her work in supporting the Hispanic/Latino community.

Evans received the Hispanic Achievement Award for Contributions to the Latino Community.

The award recognized her involvement with the school's Parent Training nights for Spanish-speaking families, Zebulon Elementary's annual Latino Night and her continued support of the school's dance troupe, Orgullo y Alma Latina, over the last five years. About 24 percent of the school's students are of Hispanic or Latino origin, Evans said.

When the school was given funds to hire an ESL teacher in August 2006, Evans said, she realized quickly that she needed to hire someone with a Hispanic/Latino background.

She found Mirtha Edwards, who helped set up parent training sessions for parents of Hispanic and Latino students twice a year. The sessions tell parents about expectations and school policies on things like tardiness and absences. Parents also are given information about who to contact at the school system, or at the school itself.

The parent training meetings, held in fall and spring, draw as many as 100 families per session, Edwards said.

Evans also invites Hispanic parents to join the schools' PTA and attend any informational meetings about school programs.

Evans said the school's ESL teacher, Gustavo Saavedra; the Spanish teacher, Tracy Bunn; and any other staff members who speak Spanish are always willing to help, and in some cases in which parents don't speak English, "the children interpret," she said.

Latino Night has become an annual tradition at Zebulon Elementary, although it was not held this year, said Edwards, who recently left the school to become an enrollment specialist with the school system's Center for International Involvement.

Latino Night, held in the fall in conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month, drew not only Hispanic families - who cook and serve authentic food and participate in dances - but other students and parents at Zebulon Elementary who came out to enjoy the fun.

More than 14 Hispanic families have supported the event each year, said Edwards.

The school's dance troupe, created in 2007 as an offshoot of Latino Night, is making a name for itself throughout the area, Evans said. The troupe includes kindergartners through fifth-graders.

Just this year, the troupe appeared at the International Festival and Fiesta del Pueblo, both in Raleigh, Evans said. The dancers' parents are supportive of the troupe and travel with it whenever it performs, she said, adding the troupe is now run by a parent.

Edwards nominated Evans for the award. "I truly think that Ms. Evans does an outstanding job with the Latino community. Parents always feel welcome to come; there is an open door with the principal. That helps a lot, especially for parent involvement," Edwards said.