What is the Need in Region 1?
The need for quality preschool programs in Region 1 is great. We ended the 2003/2004 count year with 3,042 preschool-age students in our program. Our MEES programs, will impact less than 20% of these students. Obviously, there is considerable unmet need remaining.
How can this be addressed? First and foremost, it is important that we conduct regular assessment of ALL preschool students. Although we can document the number of students, our data on the needs of those students needs to be strengthened. One of our regional goals is to assure that all migrant preschool students receive at the least an annual assessment, and that the results of that assessment be shared with their parents.
Advocacy is also an important component. We know that there are more resources available for preschool services than at any time in the history of our country. However, the flip side is that our migrant families typically lack information in regards to these programs, and as a result, the participation rates for migrant preschool students are often below that of their peers. If we are to address the ‘achievement gap’ with our school-age populations, we must begin to address this ‘access gap’ at the preschool level. Migrant staff and parents can assist with this process by becoming more aware of the existing preschool services in their communities, by meeting regularly with existing providers, by providing information to migrant families in regards to these programs, and by advocating for migrant preschool children based on actual assessment information.
It is also important that participating districts within the region NOT view the MEES funding as the sole source of resources for working with migrant preschool children. Of course, collaborations are to be encouraged at every turn. But in addition to the collaborative partnerships that can be established, each district receiving migrant funds and serving preschool-age children should be utilizing at least a portion of their funding to serve these children. In the very earliest stages, this might involve a special “readiness” program during the summer for incoming kindergarten students. In larger, more developed programs, MEES programs can be augmented with existing MEP funding to provide MEES-alike type services to a larger portion of the preschool population. In some cases it may be necessary to develop unique components within the regular year and summer migrant program components to serve hard-to-reach students and families.
We are committed in Region 1 to strengthening our early identification of the preschool students, as well as building a more comprehensive service model that more truly meets the needs of all of our students.
