Elementary all-inclusive cheer squad breaks barriers

If you’re walking by the gym after school at Camelot Elementary, you’ll find a group of twenty girls who are there to cheer.

The team is led by teachers Stephanie Saenz and Antoinique Charles, who created the cheer club at Camelot two years ago.

“We have a whole diverse squad” Saenz, a fourth-grade teacher, said.

She said they were inspired from everything they took away from cheerleading when they were children themselves.

“Mrs. Charles and I were both cheerleaders in school and we thought about all of the things that cheerleading did for us. We talked about how it builds self-confidence in us and helped us find our voice so that’s what ultimately, we hope we can do for our cheerleading squad,” Saenz added.

Camelot Elementary is a nurturing place and welcomes cheerleaders with all abilities.

“We also have Alternative Learning (ALE) students on our cheer squad as well,” Saenz said.

Ms. Saenz said she loves being a part of a school like Camelot. 

“It’s a great community, we have really great students here at Camelot. They are leaders and they work really hard. They don’t always have the opportunity to do things like cheer club outside of school so we give them those opportunities here in school,” she said.

The all-inclusive cheer team is getting noticed. They perform every Friday at synergy assemblies, at campus pep rallies, and recently at the school’s 50th Anniversary celebration.

Ten-year-old Penelope Hernandez is on the cheerleading squad.

“It’s really fun because we all have fun and get along with each other and you can make new friends that aren’t in your grade and meet new people,” the fifth-grader said.

Ms. Saenz hopes the girls take away positive memories and life-long values from their time at Camelot Elementary.

“[That it] gives them that self-confidence that they can stand up in class and participate or they feel confident having conversations with adults because they’ve stood in front of all adults and all the kids at Camelot and performed,” Saenz said.

Penelope said it’s helped her learn more about herself.  

“Before I started cheer, I was sort of shy around audiences, but it really helped me because we are in front of the whole school and we are projecting our voices. It’s really fun; it really helped me come out of my comfort zone,” she said.

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