Our Mission and Services

Mission Statement:
“Migrant Education will ensure choices in the lives of migrant students that will change the students’ lives and the lives of their current and future families. Among their choices will be graduation from college.”

What We Do
Region 23 became operational in September of 2000. The program structure was based upon the needs and priorities of committees consisting of representatives from school districts, community agencies and parents. Committees identified the five components of Migrant Education including instruction, administration, health, identification and recruitment (ID & R), and parent involvement. They recommended that districts be responsible for instruction, which is what they do best, and that the Regional Office support districts in their instructional efforts. In addition, the Regional Office is responsible for administration, health, identification and recruitment (ID & R), and parent involvement. Districts, however, do have the option of giving responsibility for all five components to the Regional Office. These districts are called direct service districts, and there are two in the region that have chosen this option. All other districts are reimbursed by the region for their migrant education instructional services.

The services provided by Migrant Education are based on the needs of migrant students, and the available resources in the district. As these vary by district, each district designs a service plan that will best supplement and complement the regular district plan to provide maximum growth opportunities for migrant students. Some of the programs that Migrant Education has provided include:

• Supplemental Services - From September 2004 through June 2005, more than 19,000 migrant children ages preschool to 22 years were identified. More than 7,000 students received supplemental services during the summer. More than 1,800 preschool students, 3,700 elementary students, and 1,500 secondary students who could not attend summer school were assisted in the home tutorial program. An additional 46 migrant students in year-round schools were served during their intersession.
• After School Tutorial – More than 3,800 students were served.
• RIF Grants (Reading is Fundamental) – Over 42,936 books were distributed to preschool and elementary age migrant students and over 22,263 books to secondary students at not cost to the students.

• MEES program (Migrant Education Even Start) Home Tutoring – Weekly home tutoring with age-appropriate curriculum was provided to 412 children ages 3-5 who are not in preschool centers. All other students participated in First Five preschool programs.

• Avance – A leadership program for 50 sixth graders based on Sean Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens. It incorporates individual and group processes to help students develop the life skills necessary for personal and academic success.
• CSU Leadership Training – Eighty-three students participated in a one-week training at CSU Sacramento. The goal of the training was to promote student leadership, self-efficiency, personal values, identify career interest, and increase knowledge of post-secondary education.
• Migrant Youth Conferences – Over 220 youth attended the conference at Delta College in October and over 214 attended at U.O.P. in April.
• UCLA – Students participated in classes and training that focused on topics of interest for their communities. Students learned about teamwork, as well as how to be leaders in their schools and communities.
• Scholarships – Migrant graduates received $608,073 in scholarships and grants to help them pursue a higher education.
• Migrant Graduation Ceremony – 578 Migrant students graduated from our local high schools and celebrated this accomplishment at a ceremony at Micke Grove Park in Lodi. Over 400 family members of the graduates were present.

• Out of School Youth Assistance – Young adults were enrolled in various ESL and GED programs. Many others received program information and a kit that included toiletries, a pocket translator, and dictionary.
• HEP (High School Equivalency Program) – This program, provided by Delta College, assists migrant youth between the ages of 16 years and 9 months to 22 years of age to pursue their GED.
• I.N.E.A. Tutors (National Institute for the Education of Adults) – Currently we have a Plaza Comunitaria de Benito Juarez where the National Institute for the Education of Adults program is available online. Migrant parents and young adults over the age of 15 are enrolled in the center at the Artessi Labor Camp #3 in French Camp to improve their literacy skills.
• Futures Academy – Students learned applications that support retail, office, and food service jobs. In addition, computer based instruction was used to develop speaking, understanding, reading, and writing skills in English.

• Parent Project – The focus was families at risk and prevention and intervention of destructive adolescent behaviors. It provided a structure to build a network of ongoing parent and youth support groups.
• Educacion Para La Vida (counseling program) – In an effort to support the family structure, this three-stage counseling program offers families assistance during a time of crisis.
• Migrant Health – In seven communities, over 2,530 services related to dental, medical, vision, hearing, nutrition, social service and health training were provided to migrant families.
• National Migrant Conference – In April, the National Migrant Conference was held in Burlingame, California. The conference was attended by the following migrant parent officers: Zita Rodriguez, Jose Gazcon, Manteca; Maria G. Zamora, New Hope; Lilia Neira, Marial Ochoa, Lodi; Elva Felix, Marisol Zuniga, Escalon; Jesus Ortega, David Santos, Concepción Flores, Mario Liborio, Esperanza Leal, Stockton; Javier Bañales, Veronica Bañales, Veronica Granados, Contra Costa; and Jose Felipe Caldillo, Linden.
• Regional Migrant Parent Conference – Over 159 parents and children attended this event in October at the San Joaquin County Office of Education. Parents took on the primary role for organizing the conference and presenting many of the workshops themselves.
• State Migrant Parent Conference – Forty-two migrant parents and one high school student attended this conference in Los Angeles in March 2005. Fifteen local parents presented workshops.