Migrant parent conference
Nancy Horst, Special to the Gazette
Friday, April 17, 2009
“Knowledge Is Power” was the theme for a day-long educational conference for migrant parents hosted earlier this month by the Emporia Public Schools Migrant Services Program.
Jane Groff, director of the Kansas Parent Information Resource Center in Topeka, presented the morning keynote session on the important role parents have in their children’s academic success.
Parents also attended sessions on immigration law, preparing children for college, home-school communication, acculturation and the importance of keeping a family’s native language, and healthy family relationships. Three Emporia educators, Alberto Carrillo, Juan Ramierz and Oscar Macias, told how they overcame barriers of poverty and language to achieve their professional goals. The day concluded with a presentation on the roles and responsibilities of immigrants in U.S. history by Alfredo Montalvo, associate professor of sociology at Emporia State University.
Migrant Services is a federal program that provides educational and community support services for families that work in agricultural jobs and have moved to the community within the past three years. Qualifying agricultural work includes meat packing, nurseries, dairies, animal farms, and harvesting or planting fields.
The goal is to help families become acclimated to Emporia through education and access to community resources, according to Armida Martinez, one of two resource coordinators for the program. Services include English classes for children and adults, preschool, reading and math programs, tutoring and summer school.
Martinez and Resource Coordinator Alicia Herrarte also help families locate services related to housing, employment, medical services, legal services and credit counseling.
The Migrant Services Office is located at Maynard Early Childhood Center.