Educational Programs Benefit Migrant Workers

By Lauralee Budd

Ten years ago, when Ricardo Negrete was 15 years old, he and his brother left Mexico and came to Utah with their father. Their father worked in the fields and orchards of Ogden. They were migrant farmers.

Negrete''s father dreamed his sons would get an education. The first attempt to enroll the two brothers was turned down by Ogden High School when the family could not prove they lived in the district; there were no bills or letters in their father''s name.

They didn''t give up.

The dream finally became a reality when Negrete and his brother started classes at Bonneville High School. School was a challenge, but they graduated. They were the only two migrant youth to graduate from Bonneville that year. The other three, Negrete''s cousins and friend, dropped out.

Like Negrete, the children of migrant and seasonal workers face unique challenges in their efforts to gain an education. Despite the challenge, programs like Migrant Head Start, migrant education and others work to create educational opportunities to one of the United States most disadvantaged populations.

Utah''s Migrant Head Start program serves over 400 migrant children, who range in age from newborn to five years old. The four centers are located in the farming areas of Ogden, Tremonton, Genola and Providence.

Years ago some workers had to take their children to the fields, where they suffered from exposure, sunburn, and sometimes injury or death.

'The main thing we are trying to do with our Head Start program is provide a safe place for the parents to leave their children when they are working in the fields,' said Rebecca Chavez-Holt, of Centro de la Familia and overseer of the four Utah programs.

In Genola, a town in an area dotted with orchards and onion farms, the children are picked up by the school buses around 7:00 in the morning. There are 97 children registered with the center.

Depending on the day, the teachers and children will speak English or Spanish while they sing songs, read stories, play and engage in pre-literacy activities.

Right before lunch the kids bundle up in their new-looking coats, many of which are donated by the community, and go outside to play. Some sit around the sand box, digging their small gym shoes into the sand. A wooden play house, built by a local elders quorum, stands vacant - the kids are too busy playing on a big colorful playground set.

When it is time to come in, they line up at the door. One little boy stands close to his friend and flicks his friend''s chubby cheek with his finger. They are smiling. The children talk, some in Spanish and others in English, while they wait to go inside.

'Many of them are becoming bilingual,' said Marilyn Bigney, the director of the Genola Head Start. 'They''re learning.'

Bigney, who is herself bilingual, said most of the children speak Spanish with their families. She said people tell her it is becoming more difficult to learn English because there are so many resources that they can 'just speak Spanish.'

The language barrier has been a concern for educators for a long time. Ricardo Negrete is now 25 years old and works as a case manager for the Migrant Farm Worker program. When Negrete started school at Bonneville High School he said the language barrier was the biggest challenge. He said the support of his parents, teachers and counselors was what made the difference for him.

'When one counselor learned we didn''t speak fluent English, she went to Weber State and took Spanish Classes to communicate with us,' Negrete said.

Another key for Negrete in graduating was his involvement in extra curricular activities like Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement.

'I actually felt like I was involved in school and not just a stranger,' he said.

A federally funded program called Migrant Education, works to provide a place for the children of migrant families in the educational system.

During the summer, the busiest time of the season, an estimated 10 percent of migrant workers have their families with them, said Negrete. The Migrant Farm Worker Program works with Migrant Education to recruit families.

Because the season runs from mid-summer until January, helping migrant children get an education presents a unique challenge. Utah''s migrant education program runs a summer school for eight to 10 weeks that is focused on teaching basic academic skills.

During the school year, the program helps children get into school. Schools require children to live with their legal guardians in order to attend. Because some kids live with aunts and uncles while their parents are in other states working, Migrant Education helps families get guardianship over their relatives'' children.

The organization Negrete works for also provides training for adults and older teenagers to help them get more secure jobs.

'If we have the family secure and they have a permanent job, they are not going to move from one place to another, which keeps the family stable and leads to a better education for the kids,' Negrete said. 'I tell them I did it and I am a live example... they can be successful too.'