Presenter (Panelist):            Ellen L. Trevino, Youth Services Director

                                                Motivation Education & Training, Inc.

                                                2510 N. Closner, Edinburg  TX  78539

                                                Phone: (956) 381-0932  Fax:  (956)381-8280

                                                email:  ellentrevino@hotmail.com

Workshop Title:             “Providing and Improving Basic Education and Access”

Event:                         Biennial Conference on Child Labor

Sponsor:                     Child Labor Coalition, National Consumers League

Date:                           June 23, 2000

Presentation Overview:

My discussion on “Providing and Improving Basic Education and Access for Migrant Farmworker Children” covers five key areas: 

1)     Education-Related Issues for Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker (MSFW) Youth, 

2)     Educator Issues in Serving MSFW Youth,

3)     Migrant Education Programs and Initiatives,

4)     Involvement of Business and Employers, and

5)     Initiatives through the U.S. Department of Labor and MET to Address MSFW Youth Education.

Education Related Issues for Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Youth

·        Poor or irregular school attendance

·        Lacking sufficient credits for graduation

·        Unsuccessful in passing the TAAS (Texas Achievement of Academic Skills)

·        Lacking fundamental academic proficiencies

·        Insufficient access to information technology

·        Difficulty in transitioning between schools

·        Inability to catch up on coursework

·        Insufficient time to complete assignments

·        Lack of appropriate study area

·        Insufficient resources for college or higher education

·        Limited availability of assistance and/or tutoring

·        Significantly behind age group in school

·        Lack of parent involvement (not due to disinterest, but to belief that schools know best and parental lack of educational attainment)

·        Increased pressure to drop out of school (from family, peers and perhaps even school counselors)

·        Low expectations among educators (institutional resignation)

·        Inability to participate in extracurricular activities because of late arrival in school year (October) and early departure from school (April)

·        Inappropriate placement in schools

·        MSFW students have an “invisibility factor” - meaning they are frequently ignored by teachers, counselors and other school personnel.

·        Fatigue limits youth participation and performance

Educator Issues in Serving MSFW Youth

·        Migrant education programs lack prestige and priority

·        There are frequently fewer resources for migrant education staff.

·        Migrant education staff often experience a lack of support from school and district administration.

·        Schools are generally run like a business - with money, rather than children, as the bottom line.

·        Attendance brings in federal dollars and migrant children lower overall attendance rates, thus losing money for the district and statistically bringing the school to a higher truancy rate.

·        The TAAS scores (in Texas) are used to measure the success of each school and each school district. Low scores get schools into trouble and can result in staff termination, school restructuring and disciplinary action from the Texas Education Agency (state education agency).

·        Overcrowding in schools results in dilemma when migrant students return in the mid-fall (generally October). Schools tend to place migrant youth where there is space, instead of placement based on individual assessment and need.

·        School rules generally offer no conditions or exceptions for migrant children. For example:

·        Low attendance is met with suspension and other educational setbacks. Some Texas schools have implemented tough “three absences and you’re out” attendance policies to address drop-out issues. Migrant children, who suffer more health problems and frequently are pulled out of school to work in the fields, find that schools expel them for “habitual truancy”.

·        Testing rules make no exceptions. Migrant youth are still required to complete final exams in order to get credit for each class, but must leave school in April. They must either take the exams four to six weeks before their peers (and before the subject has been fully covered in class) or wait until October when they return from upstream migration. If they choose to take the final exam in the fall, they must also concurrently catch up on lost class work - anywhere from four to six weeks - and complete their daily assignments for each class.

Migrant Education Programs and Initiatives

The Department of Education has recognized the difficulty experienced by migrant children for some time, and funded many programs, demonstration initiatives and educational reforms in an attempt to address their diverse needs. Some of these programs include:

·        novaNET   (www.nn.com)

·        TRIO Programs: Educational Opportunity Centers, Upward Bound, and Talent Search  (www.trioprograms.org)

·        Estrella Project (www.estrella.org)

·        Texas Migrant Interstate Program  (www.hiline.net/~psjaisd/migrant/tmip/)

·        Migrant Education Programs (federal, state, regional and local)

·        The New Generation System (www.tea.state.tx.us/)

·        The University of Texas Migrant Distance Education Program      (www.utexas.edu/cee/dec/migrant/index)

·        PASS (Pathway to Achieving Student Success) Program  
(www.2pass-site.com)

·        API Curriculum for credit accrual (American Preparatory Institute)

·        HEP/CAMP Programs (Higher School Equivalency Program/College Assistance Migrant Program)

While many excellent programs and initiatives exist to address the needs of migrant youth, the overall picture remains a crazy quilt of possible curriculum and delivery systems.

Current programs fail to reach thousands of migrant children and youth. Many never experience tutoring or specialized curriculum to help them achieve better test scores or complete credits.

The road to educational completion is blocked by each state’s use of different curriculum, textbooks, tests, and graduation requirements. Migrant children may study extensively in one upstream state only to have all work lost when it fails to be accepted by their home state.

Although not usually acknowledged, the system encourages many migrant youth to drop out and seek a GED instead. Encouragement may be based in well-meaning intentions of helping the youth to enter the workforce more quickly or to support teen parents in balancing family and work with education, but it may also result from the reality that low TAAS scores and high absentee rates have a negative impact on school reports to the district and state authority.

Involvement of Business and Employers

The reality for many older migrant youth is that they must work to support the family. Schools and youth services can support the family needs and the still see that the young person has the educational background and employment preparation needed to break the cycle of migration and field work.

Employers are a direct factor in the success of migrant youth. They can (and should) be involved in a number of ways:

·        Through a School-to-Work model of program design.

·        By providing youth experience (job shadowing, work experience, internships and apprenticeships) in a career field of interest.

·        Employers provide local role models and mentorships to young migrants.

·        Businesses can strengthen motivation and increase resiliency through the  support and encouragement of migrant youth.

·        Paid work gives older MSFW youth experience, pride and opportunities to support their family without foregoing education.

·        At the close of the twentieth century, business has earned a reputation as an “evil empire” which succeeds at the cost of its workers. Most local employers are strongly motivated to develop the next generation as citizens, consumers and workers. However, the image of “migrant youth” frequently carries many myths and stereotypes. Employers need to be involved in direct contact with the youth, to put a face on the individual and recognize the hope and dreams of the person, if the link between them is to succeed.

The Role of the U.S. Department of Labor and MET in Addressing These Needs:

The passage of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) created many reforms in the way employment and training needs of individuals are met, and the way services are delivered. Among those reforms was a greater focus on the needs of youth, and an expansion of youth programs from summer employment initiatives to year-round programs. Another reform impacting youth was a greater priority given to educational attainment as a means of securing better employment opportunities and life-long career growth. The Act offered special program and funding initiatives to migrant farmworker youth, displaced workers and other special populations.

The Department of Labor (DOL) received authorization from Congress to award funds to serve MSFW youth through the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP). MET’s youth services, funded under WIA and this DOL grant, offer a wide spectrum of activities to MSFW youth who are between 14-21 years of age. These activities include:

·        work experience

·        entrepreneurship

·        tutoring

·        youth employment

·        employment skills training

·        basic education skills

·        ESL

·        GED

·        TAAS enrichment

·        credit accrual courses

·        assistance with entry into post-secondary education

·        life skills

·        computer training

·        mentorships

·        objective assessment

·        job camps (career exploration classes)

Under the WIA, DOL encouraged collaborative partnerships and broad development of service delivery systems. As a result, MET entered into an agreement with other providers of farmworker services to create a 10-state consortium. Members of the consortium agreed to work with Texas home-based migrant youth in order to provide a continuity of services and improved academic support.

While many other organizations have formal Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with MET (such as school districts, migrant education programs and state authorities), the consortium partners have direct responsibility to use the funds to serve qualifying Texas migrant youth while they are out of state.

The Consortium is made up of the following members:

1.      Texas MET, Inc.

2.      Minnesota MET, Inc.

3.      North Dakota MET, Inc.

4.      Illinois Illinois Migrant Council

5.      Indiana Transition Resources Corporation

6.      Iowa Proteus, Inc.

7.      Michigan Telemon Corporation

8.      Montana Rural Employment Opportunities

9.      Nebraska NAF Multicultural Human Development Corp.

10.  Ohio Rural Opportunities, Inc.

In most states, the program is primarily focused on specific areas of migrant labor rather than being available state-wide (although any qualifying migrant youth can be served under funding guidelines).

While still in the early stages of implementation, the new linkages formed between MET, its consortium partners and migrant education programs, offers new hope for addressing the needs and opportunities of American farmworker youth.