“Grandma’s Sofrito” Served Up In School

Former Principal Miriam Camacho returned to her old school in Fair Haven to encourage students to always hold on to their home cultures — and, when possible, to make sofrito from scratch.

She offered those words of encouragement Wednesday morning during a visit to Family Academy of Multilingual Exploration (FAME) at 255 Blatchley Ave. 

Camacho — a retired former New Haven Public Schools teacher and principal — read her recently released children’s book, El Sofrito de Abuela/Abuela’s Sofrito, to a class of FAME fifth graders. She did so while in the company of several educators she once led as principal, her former students, and NHPS Supt. Madeline Negrón.

Camacho’s children’s book is written in both Spanish and English and tells the story of two young Puerto Rican girls who learn the importance and beauty of cooking sofrito – a mix of peppers, onions, garlic, and herbs — as a New Year’s Eve tradition with their grandmother. 

She began writing the book while a principal at FAME — which was then called Christopher Columbus Academy — from 2003 to 2005. She said while her own Cuban culture and other Latino traditions like cooking sofrito inspired her writing, it was her decades of work with students that really inspired her to share the message of always embracing one’s culture. 

In the school’s library, which later was decorated with a plaque celebrating Camacho’s work, her former students Rosalyn Díaz-Ortiz, now NHPS Supervisor of English Language Learner Programs, and Nitza Diaz, now an education consultant at the state Department of Education’s resource center, joined the celebration. 

Before starting to read her book aloud to the group of 23 students, Camacho asked: ​“Do you guys want me to speak in English or Spanish?” 

While the majority of students opted for English, she said with a smile, ​“It’s not negotiable, I’m proud to speak my own language and you should be too.” 

And so Camacho led most of Wednesday’s read-aloud in Spanish. After reading, she talked the students through worksheets that tested their knowledge of the ingredients needed to make sofrito.

Camacho immigrated to the United States in 1955 from Cuba and taught in San Juan, St. Thomas, and St. Croix before landing a career with NHPS in 1987. She taught at Hill Central, Wilbur Cross, the former Strong School, Clinton Avenue School, and led at FAME.

Current staffers who once worked closely with Camacho included veteran educators from FAME like math coach Stephanie White, English Language Learner Programs Director Pedro Mendia-Landa, and current FAME principal Marisol Rodríguez, who during Camacho’s school leadership was a kindergarten teacher at FAME.

The school was known as Christopher Columbus Family Academy until 2021. When asked for her thoughts on the renaming of the former Columbus School, Camacho said she didn’t complain as principal but did believe Columbus was ​“not one of the people I would want to be role model for my kids.” She said she is proud of the school’s name change to better recognize and celebrate its students.

As Camacho read aloud she showed the students the vegetables and other ingredients needed to make sofrito, like onion, pepper, and parsley. She also brought a jar of frozen store-bought sofrito which she cautioned the students to never use.

That’s because when you make sofrito from scratch ​“that aroma is magic,” she said, and fills your house with reminders of how strong and beautiful Latino culture is. 

Toward the end of the the reading, Camacho provided each student a copy of her book, a game of bingo to play with sofrito ingredients, and a recipe for sofrito to bring home and make with their families. She also provided the students’ teacher with worksheets to continue Wednesday’s conversation in the classroom. 

Before taking some time to sign students’ books, Camacho reminded the class of fifth-graders that ​“every one one of you can be Dr. Negrón, a superintendent,” or a successful professional like White, Diaz, Mendia-Landa, Rodríguez, and Díaz-Ortiz. 

Also in attendance Wednesday were two of three of Camacho’s children who all followed in her footsteps to education. NHPS Community Care Coordinator Jose Camacho and Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Leadership Viviana Camacho celebrated their mother and gave her thanks for inspiring their pathways to NHPS. She has another daughter, Mari Camacho, who is a Spanish teacher at Eli Whitney School. 

She tipped students off that her next book will release in September. ​“You keep reading, and I’ll keep writing,” she said. 

On Wednesday, Negrón also urged the students to keep reading and said that being bilingual is a superpower. ​“We have to be very proud of where we come from,” she said. 

She also promised Camacho that the next time her own mother pays her a visit from Puerto Rico, she will not just help with prep like usual. She was inspired by her Wednesday visit to learn to make sofrito with her mother.

As Camacho signed math coach Stephanie White’s book Wednesday she recalled hiring her decades ago but being nervous because of how young she was. But on Wednesday she got to see White has moved up as a math coach. ​“Oh my goodness, I’m so proud of you,” Camacho told her. 

At the conclusion of Wednesday’s celebration, Camacho declared, ​“I feel that I am home.”