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Butte Valley Elementary School in Dorris California has a significant migrant farm worker population. Staff found that many families were taking extended holiday vacations to Mexico because that is the only time they have available and it was important to them to see their families. Staff at the school became concerned because students might miss four to six weeks of school in the middle of the year. This sometimes created tension between staff and families with staff trying to convince families to stay and families trying to make staff understand the importance of visiting family.
Eventually, the staff at Butte Valley decided to come up with a strategy to make the best of the situation. They decided the most important thing was to keep children hearing English while they were in their home country. In 2001, the administration bought inexpensive canvas bag, tape players, and books on tape. These "literacy bags" are sent off with students during their extended holiday vacations. This has led to increased communication and mutual respect between the school staff and families. The school is finding that many families are actually cutting their vacations a little shorter so that students are missing only two weeks of school and they have also found that students come back from their vacations not as far behind. The increased communication on this issue has created better overall communication between staff and families at Butte Valley Elementary School.
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In response to the Literacy Bags article, books on tape promote independent reading, however, what about curriculum and instructional materials? How can students who leave on extended trips be supported in the content areas?
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jamillah
finley, Literacy Coach, WFSD Sep 14, 2006 11:24 AM
A response from SchoolsMovingUp staff:
Some districts provide independent study packets so that students can attempt to keep up with the curriculum while they are away. Of course, it is sometimes difficult for students to complete this work without assistance. One region in California has created a unique program to support migrant students, a population that often misses school for extended periods of time.
This program, the Binational Support Teacher Project, is now in its sixth year. California’s Region 2 migrant education office funds this program and works with education officials from the Mexican state of the Michoacán, where much of Northern Califorina’s migrant population is from, to interview and hire teachers in these students’ home towns in Mexico to pick up where the U.S.-based teachers left off. The binational support teachers must be bilingual, have experience working in U.S. schools, and be familiar with the migrant lifestyle. Districts pay nothing for this service, but must have in place or be willing to start an independent-study program. They must also have a critical mass of migrant students from the state of Michoacán. The teachers in Mexico assist students with their independent study work — making sure they understand what is required of them and stay on task.
In another Northern California district, Napa Valley Unified, school officials piloted a three-week Christmas break this year, instead of the typical two, and publicized the change well ahead of time. Officials hoped this longer vacation would enable more fo their students to get back from Mexico in time for the start of classes.
To read more about the Binational Support Teacher Project, go to Education Week’s February 8, 2006, issue at http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2006/02/08/22mexico.h25.html?qs=migrant+education
- Oct 25, 2006 12:27 PM
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