Migrant Education Programs
Migrant Education supports programs designed to strengthen the school, community, and family experiences of children and their families. Programs are developed in collaboration with the school districts that enroll migratory students. These programs are designed, implemented, and evaluated through the collaborative efforts of the migrant education regional office and educators at the school and district levels. Every effort is made to base the content and methodology of the programs on the needs of migratory children and their families. The services focus on the themes of the NCLB legislation: standards and assessment; teaching and learning; professional growth and development; links among schools, families, and communities; and funding and governance. The programs are supplemental and intended to assist migratory students to succeed in their academic course work, improve staff's ability to teach migratory students effectively, and build a support network for educators, students, and their families. In Ventura County, the programs are operated by 13 school districts with approximately 100 schools.
The programs listed below are provided throughout the Region and are available to all eligible migratory children and/or their parents. More information about the programs is available from the Regional Office.
Migrant Education Even Start (MEES):
MEES is a family literacy and parenting program for parents and their preschool children, birth to seven years of age. Families with children, ages three to five, are given priority for services. Project activities support the children's early childhood development and help parents improve their English abilities and native language literacy and knowledge of parenting strategies.
This program provides tutoring to migratory students to give them the academic and social support they need to succeed in their course work and stay in school. The tutors come from a migrant family background and are full-time college students who are pursuing teaching credentials. Mini-Corps tutors work with migratory students during the school year and summer school as role models to strengthen their relationships among students, teachers, family members, and members of the community.
Portable Assisted Study Sequence (PASS):
The PASS Program assists migratory students in grades nine to twelve to receive credits toward graduation. The courses of study, available in English and Spanish, are designed to supplement the regular program of instruction and help migratory students stay in school.