North Central Migrant Education Program - Overview
The Migrant Education Program is a federally funded program that provides supplemental education and support services to eligible children between the ages of 3-21 years of age. The primary goal of MEP is to ensure that all migrant students reach challenging academic standards and graduate with a high school diploma (or complete a GED) that prepares them for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment. MEP ensures that children of migratory farm workers have access to the same free, appropriate public school education, including preschool education and quality summer school that is provided to other children. It seeks to remove barriers to school enrollment, attendance, and achievement of migrant children.
Purpose - The purposes of the Migrant Education Program are to:
- Ensure that migrant children have the opportunity to meet the same challenging state content standards and challenging state student performance standards that all children are expected to meet.
- Support high quality and comprehensive educational programs for migrant children to help reduce educational and other problems that result from repeated moves.
- Ensure that migrant children are provided with appropriate educational and support services that address their special needs in a coordinated and efficient manner.
- Design programs to help migrant children overcome educational disruption, cultural and language barriers, social isolation, various health-related problems, and other factors that inhibit the ability of such children to do well in school, and to prepare such children to make a successful transition to postsecondary education or employment.
- Ensure that migrant children benefit from state and local systemic reforms.
Program Services - Some of the benefits of the Migrant Education Program include:
- Support in enrolling children in school and helping them succeed
- Assistance in understanding school policies, requirements and forms
- Collaboration to help families communicate with teachers, administrators and school staff
- Summer school programs
- School supplies as available
- Book distributions when available
- Registration costs for students to attend conferences, workshops and trainings
- Medical, dental and mental health care as available
- Family events such at the Christmas Fiesta, Outstanding Student and Graduation Awards Ceremony, and Family Night at Summer School
- Information and referral to community agencies that provide assistance with food, clothing, health, dental, legal issues, housing, employment, and other social services
- Parental involvement opportunities – training at state conferences and migrant parent meetings at local school sites, first aid classes, and courses designed to meet the needs and interests of parents in different school districts
Program Qualifications
Children must meet the eligibility criteria established by the federal government to receive services. Students qualify for the program based on their parent's intent to seek employment in seasonal or temporary agriculturally related work in the last 36 months.
Program Funding
For each child that qualifies for the Migrant Education Program, the local school district receives funding to help migrant children reach high academic standards. Eligible migrant students are able to receive services for up to three years.
Program Links
For more detailed information on the Migrant Education Program, please explore the links to the federal and state websites below:
Migrant Education Program -- Colorado Department of Education
Office of Migrant Education -- United States Department of Education
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