CLEVELAND — Gabriela Puyo decorates her classroom walls with representations of 21 Spanish-speaking countries, serving as a reminder of the school's diversity.

"I put a few pictures, and I laminated them so they can always relate the flag with the country and something important about the country," Puyo said.

She teaches at Lorain Bilingual Academy with more than 250 students and staff, who were recognized by the Ohio Department of Education for their progress and performance last year. More than 25,000 students in Ohio say Spanish is their primary language, according to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. Puyo said one of the academy teaches students the fundamentals while helping them stay in touch with their native language.

"We're learning numbers with the little ones and they just colored their papers after we were singing and dancing... With the older kids, it's a little different because, for example, in sixth grade, they're already doing their research. We're talking about Guatemala this week," she said.

Lorain Bilingual Academy is the only bilingual school in Lorain area, which has the highest percentage of Hispanic and Latino people that any other county in Ohio.

They read and write in English and Spanish, and learn about global cultures and history like Guatemalan activist Rigoberta Menchú Tum.

"They were just killing all the native people," Puyo said. "She was one of the bravest persons saying, 'No more!'"

Puyo said she lived in Peru until two years ago, when she moved to Northeast Ohio through a teaching exchange program. Now, she is connecting with students who, like her, have international roots.

Puyo said they all bring parts of their heritage to homeroom.

"I bring food when I make Peruvian food, and we're all sharing and they're trying different things," she said. "So we're learning about different places that probably we wouldn't be able to go or meet people from there."