Title I Part C
Migrant Education Program
Supporting the Needs of Migrant
Children and Youth in Georgia
Presented by the Georgia Department of Education:
John Wight, MEP Program Manager
Israel Cortez, MEP Region 2 Coordinator
4/7/2015
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What do you know
about migrant
children and youth?
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Homeless and Migrant Connection
Individuals whose nighttime residence is NOT:
– Fixed—stationary, permanent, and not subject to change
– Regular—used on a predictable, routine, or consistent basis
– Adequate—sufficient for meeting both the physical and
psychological needs typically met in the home
Migrant children and youth are at risk…
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Homeless and Migrant Connection
The Homeless definition includes children and youth who are:
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sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or
similar reason;
living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due the lack of
alternative accommodations;
living in emergency or transitional shelters;
abandoned in hospitals;
awaiting foster care placement;
living in a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not
designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human
beings;
living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing,
bus/train stations, or similar settings;
migratory – who qualify as homeless living in circumstances described above.
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What is the Migrant Education Program?
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MEP History
1960 “Harvest of Shame” documentary aired on
Thanksgiving Night
www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7087479n
1965 President Lyndon Johnson
“Great Society Initiative”
1966 Migrant Education Program included in the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
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Program Purpose
The purpose of the MEP in Georgia (and the
United States) is to ensure that migrant
children fully benefit from the same free
public education provided to all children and
that the unmet education-related needs
resulting from their migrant lifestyle are met.
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Supplemental Program
The MEP is entirely a supplemental program,
meaning that funds can be used only to
supplement, but in no case supplant, State, local
or other non-federal funds.
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Migrant Education Program
Unique Feature
• Before a migrant child may be served or
counted for funding in the program, his or her
eligibility must be documented on a
Certificate of Eligibility (COE). These COEs are
completed through face-to-face interviews
performed by trained and qualified LEA and
state staff, and they are certified by the state.
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Federal Definition of “migratory child”
1. Age: The child is younger than 22; AND
2. Educational level: The child has not graduated from high school or does not hold
a high school equivalency certificate (GED). If the child is too young to attend
school–sponsored educational programs, is old enough to benefit from an
organized instructional program; AND
3. Move: The child and worker move for economic necessity across School District
lines to seek or obtain, or accompany a parent or guardian, to seek or obtain
qualifying work; AND
4. The time of the move: The move occurred in the preceding 36 months; AND
5. The purpose of the move: was to seek or obtain qualifying work or any kind of
work and obtain qualifying work soon after the move. Qualifying work is work in
agriculture, agricultural related, fishing, or fishing related, that is either seasonal
or temporary work. The work must be performed only for wages or personal
subsistence.
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Areas of Concern
as identified by the U.S. Department of Education
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Health
Educational Continuity
Instructional Time
English Language Development
School Engagement
Educational Support in the Home
Access to Services
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Access to Services
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Isolation
Transportation
Language
“Newness”
Immigration issues
Need to work….
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Special Educational Needs of
Migrant Children and Youth
• Gaps in learning resulting from repeated
moves
• Credit accrual
• Continuity of education from state-to-state
and district-to-district.
• Language barriers
• Emergency health and medical issues
impacting academic performance
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Types of MEP Supplemental Services
• Classroom support – inclusion and pull-out
• After school, intersession, and summer
programs
• Tutoring, including home tutoring
• English language acquisition assistance
• College and career preparation
• Health Services (when they impact academic
achievement)
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Priority for Service
• Program requirement
– Identify student needs
– Identify those failing or risk of failing
– Identify those with repeated moves as well as
failing
– Create supplemental support based on the needs
of the individuals
• Provide services to those migrant students
first, and then to other migrant students
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Preschool Migrant Children
• Training for parents to focus on educational
components in the home
– EXITO and parental engagement
• Access to preschool and pre-K programs in the
community
– Support within the school building
– Support at home
– Telemon, Headstart, GA PreK , other PreK Program
• Faith Based, Migrant Headstart and others
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Out-of-School Youth (OSY)
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Identify needs
English Language classes
School enrollment
GED Classes
Health Education and Fairs
iPods and MP3 Players
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A Modern Approach for a Modern World:
Educational Technology in Migrant Education
• Portable Learning
Project (iPods, MP3s,
etc.)
• Taking advantage of
modern solutions that
offer new instructional
opportunities for OSY
• Appealing, convenient,
self-paced instruction
Characteristics of OSY
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Highly Mobile
Limited English Proficient (LEP)
Not interested in traditional schooling
Adults not youth
No interest in, & no time for, long-term programs
Undocumented: few are able to rely on public assistance
Unmet health/social needs
Disengaged /alienated from schools/learning because of bad experiences
& lack of success
• Family responsibilities: their families depend on them for income or they
have children
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Needs of Homeless Migrant Youth
• Support Services
• Health Information and Education
– Poor nutrition, housing, & sanitary conditions
– Limited health screenings
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Education – credit recovery
English Classes
Access to Social Services
Child Care and Transportation
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Coordination of Services
• School age children – speak with Homeless
liaison at the school
• Coordinate for services for the family
– Local churches or ministries
– Department of Children Services
– Migrant Health
– GA Dept of Community Health
– Telamon
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Coordination of Services
• Youth not connected to a school
– Work with grower, farmer, crew leader to let them
know of a youth looking for work and a place to
live
– Department of Labor
– Telamon Corporation
– Local Churches and Ministries
– Migrant Health
– GA Dept of Community health
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Resources
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Public Policy Institute of California: Out of School Immigrant Youth
www.ppic.org/content/pubs/report/R_407LHR.pdf
Strategies, Opportunities, Solutions for Out-of-School Youth www.osymigrant.org
High School Equivalent Program www.hepcamp.com
PASS Center www.migrant.net/pass
Pew Hispanic Center www.pewhispanic.org
National Center for Farmworker Health www.ncfh.org
U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Migrant Education
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oese/ome/index.html
GaDOE MEP http://www.gadoe.org/School-Improvement/FederalPrograms/Pages/Migrant-Education-Program.aspx
National Migrant Education Hotline 1-800-234-8848
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Contact Information
John Wight
Program Manager
Migrant Education and Refugee Programs
Georgia Department of Education
jwight@doe.k12.ga.us
Israel Cortez
Region 2 Coordinator
Migrant Education Program
Georgia Department of Education
jcortez@doe.k12.ga.us
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