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They have been called "children of the harvest" and "children of the road." These children face more obstacles in the pursuit of education than any other identifiable population and their dropout rate is higher than that of the average population.
They are migrant children, the children of itinerant farmworkers who stream each year into Missouri's processing plants, fields, and orchards—planting, hoeing, pruning, picking and packing the crops that bolster the state's economy and help feed America.
Each year thousands of migrant families pour into Missouri to perform the vital tasks necessary to reap the state's rich agricultural bounty.
The migrant student typically reports for school in the late spring, just when other students are counting down the days until summer vacation. Many are here for the opening of school in the fall. By November, most have left Missouri to return to their homes in Texas, California, Arizona, or Mexico.
How do Missouri schools respond to the influx of these mobile students, many of whom speak only limited English?
Thanks in part to Title I, Part C—Migrant Education Program, a special federally funded and state managed program, the migrant students receive an array of services tailored to their needs. As a result, their chances for success in school are greatly improved.
Migrant students suffer the wrenching effects of dislocation and immersion of new surroundings. Their education is constantly disrupted at critical stages, and school standards and curriculum do not match well across state lines.
Many migrant students are Hispanic, first and second generation Mexican-Americans, and Spanish is often the only language spoken in their homes. When schools provide instruction in English only, these students frequently are unable to benefit.
Additionally, migrant students are affected by the cumulative effects of poverty, economic pressures, and continuing exposure to health hazards. Many migrant children frequently help parents work, and older children are often compelled to choose between the long-term promise of education and the immediate needs of the family.
More than half of all migrant students at the second grade level and higher are one or more years older than the norm for their grade. Large numbers are retained in kindergarten and first grade, due to their limited English impeding their acquisition of basic skills. Being an over-age child is a leading statistical indicator for potential dropouts. In the migrant population, the average student stands a 50/50 chance of graduating from high school.
Despite these enormous barriers, migrant students can and do succeed in school. Partially compensating for the burdens they endure, migrant students usually benefit from strong family ties with strong work ethics. With proper measures of directed assistance along the way, they realize their unlimited potential for success in school and life.
The doors of every Missouri public school are open to all migrant students as long as the student resides in the state. Missouri educators are committed to treating all students equitably and providing them with quality education. However, most schools would be unable to cope with the full range of special challenges presented by migrant students were it not for the far-reaching services of the Missouri Migrant Education and English Language Learning Program and the Federal Title I, Part C—Migrant Education Program (MEP).
MELL staff make an effort to identify migrant students as soon as they arrive in the state and get them enrolled in school as soon as possible.
The program also offers guidance and couseling to help migrant students match their educational program in Missouri with what they have been pursuing in another state. Summer programs provide migrant students the opportunity to close gaps in their educational achievement and make up missing credits.
Migrant Education-supported tutors, aides, and teachers provide migrant students supplemental assistance in their studies when needed.
For those students learning the English language, research-based English acquisition courses help students make the transition from one language to another.
When mobility has hindered the migrant student's growth in reading, math and language arts, MEP personnel work closely with regular classroom teachers to help the students overcome gaps and breaks in their educational progress.
The MEP supports night schools, alternative schools, and high school credit exchange programs that provide the means by which students may accrue credits.
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The state director Federal Grants Management is responsible for administration. The state director has directed the staff of the Migrant Education- English Language Learning (MELL) program to be responsible for developing a plan to address the needs of migrant students residing in Missouri. They are counseled by the State Advisory Committee, a majority of whose members are migrant parents. In addition, MELL hosts an annual conference in the fall to address the needs of migrant and ESL staff who work with migrant students.
The MELL program provides program design, curriculum, teacher and paraeducator professional development, health and parent training support to local school districts through nine regional offices.
The Director of the MELL Program and the Migrant Student Records System (MSRS) Office, operates within the Jefferson City School District. MSRS has a statewide responsibility for program functions and identification and recruitment of migrant families and students.
More than 35 local educational agencies (LEAs) are responsible for delivering direct services to migrant students. Each LEA has a parent advisory council who works in conjunction with program staff in addressing the needs of migrant students. The LEA must develop a plan, and submit an application to the state MEP Office. MEP staff review and approve each plan before funding is granted.
The Missouri MELL program makes an effort to identify every migrant family that moves into the state and assures that school aged children are placed in school. Many benefit from the supplemental services of the MEP, such as preschool programs; tutoring in reading, math and language arts; instruction in ESL; health referrals; and summer school.
Many students are helped in ways that are impossible to witness. Students who might have otherwise dropped out are in schools because the MEP gave them the motivation and academic boost they needed. Many are regularly receiving instruction in English who previously needed a translator or bilingual support and, have improved their attendance records. Many have gained the self-confidence and assurance they needed to become active in clubs, sports, and other school activities.
A grant from the United States Department of Education funds the Migrant Education Program. Congress created the Title I, Part C—Migrant Education Program in 1966 and has appropriated funds for it in each successive year. The allocated funds are distributed by the United States Department of Education to state education agencies, which then determine how best to address the needs of migrant students attending schools in their state. Missouri received a portion of the total amount of money appropriated by Congress.
Most of the funds allocated to Missouri are distributed to local school districts to conduct supplemental educational programs for migrant students. Like other states, Missouri uses some funds for necessary state and regional level administrative and support services.
Projects are based on documentation of an identifiable eligible population and its needs. The state MELL Office and the MSRS Office provide assistance in collecting data. The MELL Regional Offices can provide assistance in conducting a needs assessment of the identified migrant population.
Once data is presented to support the need for a project within a given area, the applicant must design an appropriate program of supplemental education services addressing identified needs, prepare a budget, and submit to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as part of the Consolidated Federal Programs application. State and regional staff can provide technical assistance in the preparation of applications.
Students are eligible to participate when they have moved across school district boundaries with their parent(s) or guardian within past three years. The purpose of the move must have been to enable a family member to obtain seasonal or temporary work in an agricultural or fishing activity as a principle means of livelihood. This includes seasonal forestry activities.
If you think your children or other children you know are eligible for MEP services, contact the nearest school or call the MSRS Office at (573) 893-8931.
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