PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES

WHY MIGRANT EDUCATION?

The Purpose of the Migrant Education Program, otherwise known at Title I, Part C, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), is to assist the states to:

  • Support high-quality and comprehensive educational programs for migratory children to help reduce the educational disruptions and other problems that result from repeated moves;
  • Ensure that migratory children who move among the States are not penalized in any manner by disparities among the States in curriculum, graduation requirements, and State academic content and student academic achievement standards;
  • Ensure that migratory children are provided with appropriate educational services (including supportive services) that address their special needs in a coordinated and efficient manner;
  • Ensure that migratory children receive full and appropriate opportunities to meet the same challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards that all children are expected to meet;
  • Design programs to help migratory children overcome educational disruption, cultural and language barriers, social isolation, various health-related problems, and other factors that inhibit the ability of such children to do well in school, and to prepare such children to make a successful transition to postsecondary education or employment; and
  • Ensure that migratory children benefit from State and local systemic reforms.

This is only Section 1301 of the Act. To see the entire Act, click here:
http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg8.html

Migrant Education Program Guidance, October 2010
The updated Migrant Education Program Guidance, dated October 2010, replaces all prior non-regulatory guidance for the Migrant Education Program (MEP). Please note, the Introduction, along with Chapter II: Child Eligibility, were revised recently to reflect the 2008 program regulations and Department policy. With minor exceptions, as noted in the Introduction, all other chapters remain unchanged from the non-regulatory guidance document that the Department published on October 23, 2003. This guidance does not impose requirements beyond those in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and other Federal statutes and regulations that apply to the MEP.. View this document on the US Department of Education site.


MIGRANT EDUCATION HOTLINE

The Migrant Education Hotline: 1.800.234.8848

Migrant farm workers and their families have a phone number to call for referrals to education and other services. Call the hotline when you move to get help enrolling your children in school or summer school. This call is free and accessible from anywhere in the United States.

Trabajadores de agrícultura migrantes y sus familias tienen un número telefónico al que pueden llamar para solicitar información de educación y otros servicios.


AIM - ACTION, INSPIRATION, MOTIVATION

AIM is a program designed to enhance graduation and academic achievement for middle and high school youth. The purpose of the program is to reach migrant children/youth before they become at risk of dropping out of school. The program is run by the individual local education agency (LEA) migrant education programs, and there are active clubs in nine LEAs.

Five Components of the AIM Program:

  • Counseling/Consulting
  • Self-Esteem/School Performance
  • The Mentor
  • Role Models
  • Goal-Setting and Problem Solving

AIM Clubs engage in many activities, both after school and on weekends. They include:

  • Workshops on education and career planning
  • Community participation and service learning
  • Study sessions
  • Social functions and field trips related to group identity and cultural awareness


FAMILY LITERACY

Research shows that parents who cannot read tend to have children who struggle academically and pass those struggles on to their own children. Therefore, programs that support parents will, in turn, help them encourage their children as developing readers. Family literacy, in which parents and children discover the wonders of reading together, is an important initiative in many Migrant Education programs in the state.

Parents as Teachers Programs
http://www.parentsasteachers.org/site/pp.asp?c=ekIRLcMZJxE&b=272091

National Center for Family Literacy website: http://www.famlit.org/

International Reading Association:
What Is Family Literacy? Getting Involved in Your Child's Literacy Learning
http://www.reading.org/downloads/parents/pb1044_involved.pdf

Harvard Family Research Project:
Family Literacy: A Review of Programs and Critical Perspectives
http://www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/browse-our-publications/family-literacy-a-review-of-programs-and-critical-perspectives


OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTH (OSY)

Between 30 and 40% of North Carolina's migratory students are Out of School Youth (OSY). These are eligible migrant students who have left formal schooling before graduating from high school. They are often difficult to serve because, despite their academic goals and aspirations, they often have to work long hours.

Over 90% of the OSY surveyed in 2010-2011 indicated a desire to learn English, and over 70% indicated that they would like job training and/or preparation for high school graduation or a GED. Currently, programs are offering camp-based programs, digital learning, and school-site programs for OSY.

NC is a participating state in the Solutions for Out of School Youth (SOSY) Consortium . The SOSY website, http://www.osymigrant.org contains a wealth of materials for working with this group of students.

The following article is old, but still contains relevant information: Literacy Education for Adult Migrant Farmworkers. http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9220/migrant.htm

Another critical need among these students is health care. Again, mobility and distance from the medical resources often found in urban areas makes OSY students more vulnerable to health problems. While the basis of the Migrant Education Program is education, it is often critical to deliver or assist others in the delivery of basic health care so that our students are healthy enough to learn. Many of the Migrant Education Programs in North Carolina collaborate with local health care providers to deliver basic health care education and services to youth.

National Center for Farmworker Health, http://www.ncfh.org/
Migrant Clinician's Network,
http://www.migrantclinician.org/migrant_info/health_problems.php

More resources for working with OSY:
English as a Second Language
USA Learns, a free internet-based resource for adult ESL: http://www.usalearns.org/index/welcome.cfm?CFID=1232294&CFTOKEN=67355488&jsessionid=1a30977b8c1aae1733be672c51287556664e

Driving information:
Lesson Plans on Safe Driving
http://www.nc-net.info/ESL/Caldwell/Year_1/Lesson_Plans/Traffic_Signs/traffic_signs.php

North Carolina Department of Transportation Drivers' Handbooks (PDFs in English and Spanish):
http://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/driver/

Pesticide Safety
Project Clean Environment for Healthy Kids Training Modules from the Farmworker Justice Institute: http://www.fwjustice.org/training-modules

North Carolina State University publishes Pesticide Toolkits for various crops. They are available for purchase at: http://go.ncsu.edu/pesticide-toolkit


PARENT INVOLVEMENT

The goal of parent involvement is to actively engage migrant parents to have a voice in the education of their children. Each local agency defines the procedures, activities, and composition of their Migrant Parent Advisory Committee according to their unique population and season. The mission of the MPAC, in general, is the same throughout the state. Parents will plan, develop and evaluate the goals, design, and implementation of the Migrant Education Program. They will make suggestions and recommendations based on locally determined concerns that directly affect the services provided to their children. Members of the Migrant Parent Advisory Committee ensure that our students are receiving a high-quality educational program.

Exceptional Children's Assistance Center: http://www.ecac-parentcenter.org/Resources-for-Families.aspx?sid=35&pid=4&red=yes

Center for the Study of Social Policy , toolkit for Growing and Sustaining Parent Engagement,
(pdf, 128kb)

The National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education publishes a comprehensive resource list, at http://www.ncpie.org/Resources/