This report, the culmination of a 3-year examination of the federal Migrant Education Program (MEP), is based on research, public testimony, and interviews with migrant community members by the National Commission on Migrant Education. It discusses agricultural trends of the past 25 years and accompanying demographic changes in the migrant…

This document reports on a study evaluating the practices of identification and recruitment of migrant students. Guided by a 14-state advisory council, data were collected by ethnographic research of practice in migrant recruitment and focus-group studies of migrant families. The document consists of five sections each written by a different…

This paper presents an overview of the Early Head Start program. The objective of the Early Head Start program is to enhance the cognitive, social and emotional development of low-income children, including children on federally-recognized reservations and children of migratory farm workers, through the provision of comprehensive health,…

This paper identifies issues and needs related to services for migrant children based on a review of the literature and discussions with experts in the field. Background on migrant children includes definitions; demography; migrant data sources; and descriptions of federal migrant education, migrant health, and migrant Head Start programs. A…

This report evaluates the Migrant Student Record Transfer System (MSRTS), a national computer system of records on migrant children, that was voluntarily created in 1969 by state directors of the Migrant Education Program (MEP). As the Federal Government instituted policy changes, MSRTS became the primary source of data for federal and state…

This report describes an evaluation of the Austin (Texas) Independent School District's (AISD) Chapter 1 and Chapter 1 Migrant programs. Chapter 1 is a federally funded compensatory educational program that provided funding in 1990-91 to 25 AISD elementary schools with high concentrations of low-income students. Chapter 1 Migrant is also a…

American migrant and seasonal agricultural workers are a population needing categorical assistance due to low income, difficult working and living conditions, and a mobile lifestyle. The purpose of this study was to identify, describe, and analyze federally funded migrant services. This study, based on interviews with program officials and…

Findings and recommendations growing from a 1-year study of the status of education for the children of migratory farm workers are presented. The major focus of this Ford Foundation study is an evaluation of programs financed through special Federal migrant education funds authorized by Congress in a 1966 amendment to Title I of the Elementary and…

This volume summarizes information provided by state education agencies on student achievement in Chapter 1 Migrant Education Programs. For the regular term, 34 states (out of 48) provided statewide achievement information using norm-referenced tests (29 states), criterion-referenced tests (8 states), and locally developed instruments (1 state).…

The most obvious and difficult problem facing educators of migrant children is that of frequent interruptions in the child's education caused by his migration. Various solutions have been put forth over the past three decades; these have included providing mobile schools and staff, residential schools, uniform record transfers, interstate credit…

The evaluation of federal programs such as the migrant education program causes a dilemma for state education agencies. The law places the prime responsibility for establishing, and accounting for, quality programs on state and local education agencies. However, no explicit directive requires that this be done in a uniform manner. A lack of…

This evaluation report of Colorado's migrant education program during fiscal year 1987-88 was published according to a federal requirement. The program's background, budget, and funding sources are described. The 1987-88 figures on student and district involvement are reported. In the 1987-88 school year, 4,771 children were identified as eligible…

Nine Street Projects designed for the Spanish speaking and funded by Region V of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) are examined here. They were: the El Hogar del Nino Day Care Center, Spanish-American Day Care Center, United Migrant Opportunity Services' Bilingual/Bicultural Early Childhood Center, Youth Services at El Centro…

The purpose of this policy manual is to disseminate the Migrant Education Program statute and regulations and to assist State Education Agencies (SEA) in planning, implementing, and evaluating Chapter 1 Migrant Education Programs. The manual also may assist parents in becoming involved in all aspects of the Migrant Education Program and to ensure…

This report characterizes the student population served by the Migrant Education Program (MEP), describes services provided through MEP, and suggests policy options to improve targeting and accountability. Despite legislation that requires currently migratory children to receive priority for MEP services, over half of those served are formerly…