Northwest Regional Education Service District
Migrant Children’s Education

Submitted by Employee Liaison Gail Manahan

The Northwest Regional Education Service District is a leader in providing special education, instructional services, and technology support to the 20 school districts in the Northwest corner of Oregon. Education Service Districts originated in 1946 when Oregon passed laws establishing this system as part of their support of public schools.

Of the many services the Northwest Regional Educational Service District provides is a Migrant/English Language Learner (ELL) Services Program. 2007 was the first time they have provided summer school for migrant children in Astoria.

Migrant workers come to Astoria to work in the canneries and nurseries. They are there for part of the summer and the ESD has started a summer school program for them in Astoria to take advantage of the time they have there to provide some education.

In 2007 Cruise West and the Our Bear Cares program became involved with the Migrant Program and their efforts to help migrant children with their literacy and inclusion in society. The language barrier is the biggest one and the most workable approach is to buy books with cassette tapes included in both the child’s first language and English. They send the books home with the children and include a cassette player. They encourage the parents to listen to the tapes and read along with their children. The results have been very good.

1. The process supports both languages and helps with first and second language skills
2. Parents learn along with the children
3. Understanding English allows the parents to go to the schools and better interact with the teachers and administrators
4. The children gain more confidence as their literacy levels increase which gives them greater success in school even as they move around
5. The books, tapes and cassettes are checked out and returned, allowing them to be used by more than one family that passes through the area. Although if a child really likes a book s/he is allowed to keep it.
6. The books and tapes are not just purchased for Spanish-speaking children, but also as needed for the Russian, Chinese, South Korean and other migrants who come through.
7. With the assistance of Our Bear Cares money, this library is now being expanded and additional cassette players purchased, reaching out to more children and helping their learning process.

Writes the administrator of the ELL Services Program:

“We have already made purchases of bilingual books grade levels 1-5. We will distribute the books at our next Migrant PAC (Parent Advisory Committee) on March 6, 2008 in Astoria. The meeting will focus on empowering parents to support their children in developing strong reading skills in themselves and their children. The research shows that children whose parents read to them and/or participate in the reading process perform better in school. This is an amazing opportunity for parents to learn with their children as many migrant parents have low literacy skills and some are even illiterate in their native language. These books will empower parents to be a part of their child's education and help develop a love of reading in their children. Remember what it was like having your parents read to you or reading to your parents as a child? We not only are building literacy skills in children, but building families too.”