The value of educating the children of migrant workers
Pennsylvania is the fourth largest apple producing state in the country with Adams County producing over half of that crop with more than 6 million bushels. As an agricultural community we are dependent on the seasonal workers who pick and process the fruit that is grown in Adams County. The work is very demanding and usually involves both parents.
The children of migrant and farm worker families can experience difficulty succeeding at school. When families must move frequently, the child’s education is interrupted and can suffer gaps in learning. Because school districts across the nation are not on the same curriculum calendar, children may miss instruction in key areas. The result can be devastating for learning.
All children living in the United States are required to attend school. Schools work to help each child to fill in the skills they have not learned. However, in some cases a child from an itinerant worker family only attends a school for a few months before moving on with the crops. In addition, many farmworker families come from different countries speaking Spanish, Haitian Creole or other languages making it difficult for parents to help their child at home, especially after long hours in the field or packing plant.
The Migrant Education Program has a long history of assisting students whose families work in agriculture. Established in 1966 as part of the Elementary & Secondary Education Act, this program became the vehicle for providing educational and support services to the children of the nation’s migrant farm workers. Prior to this act, summer care for such children in Adams County was often held in church basements. After state funds became available, the Migrant Education Program provided safe, educational environments for children from birth through grade 12. Programs were then held in registered daycare homes, a preschool facility (The Opportunity Center) and local schools. They operated from 6 weeks to 4 months. Children were served during the summer months as a way of extending and completing their education. School districts would take turns hosting the program, which was run for the past 30 years by the Lincoln Intermediate Unit. Children would be transported to classes each day for 4-6 weeks during the summer. The program provided instruction to enhance language development, reading and math skills as well as cultural and artistic education. Field trips were planned and experts were brought in to teach.
Children expanded their use of the English language and were introduced to the traditions and routines of a typical American classroom. When workers arrived in late June-early July their children could immediately receive services while their parents worked. Staff members helped families to register their children into the local schools and visited their homes to answer their questions.
Over the years, employment opportunities expanded and many families settled more permanently into our communities. Children continued to be eligible for services for three years. Services expanded to include college applications and vocational preparation. Several students went on to complete their college education and now hold jobs in our community in education, health services and other fields.
Now funding for Migrant Education through Federal Title I Part C has been substantially reduced. This summer the program only ran for 15 days…. a drastic change from the lengthier programs of the past. Also there have been significant cuts to staff and budget. The Northwest Tri-County Intermediate Unit, in Erie, PA, now administers the local Migrant Education Program.
Programs that work successfully can often be taken for granted or become “invisible” as they do their work behind the scenes. Many people gave tirelessly of their time and talents to guide families through the maze of paperwork, orientation meetings and parent teacher conferences. The Migrant Education program was always willing to assist school districts that were working with farmworker families. The dedicated teachers and staff of the LIU Migrant programs bridged a gap of understanding for those parents who were working hard to make a better life for their children. The dream was for their children to be able to escape the cycle of migrant work…of moving constantly to follow the crops. And for many the dream was achieved through sacrifice, determination and the guidance of those familiar with the system.
Will new families working in agriculture have the same opportunities in the future? Will the needs of our rural county be met or will the federal funding continue to be cut, putting greater burdens on local taxpayers as schools have fewer resources to assist these families? We continue to need the services of migrant workers in our county. The Adams County fruit industry generates over $500 million a year and all workers pay taxes. A skilled worker can pick between 12 and 24 bins of apples in a day with each bin holding 1000 pounds. Can the children of these workers, who we so desperately need, hope to have a better life in the future? As an educator I believe we must provide that opportunity.
Kathy Ciolino is a member of the Education Task Force for Democracy for America and the co-chair of the Birth to 5 Committee.