THIS PROGRAM IS PART OF "AMERICAN GRADUATE" LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN, A PUBLIC MEDIA INITIATIVE
MADE POSSIBLE BY THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
THESE CHILDREN WILL ENCOUNTER MANY OBSTACLES IN THEIR QUEST FOR AN EDUCATION
NEARLY ALL OF THEM LIVE BELOW THE POVERTY LINE. THEY MAY GO TO AS
MANY AS FOUR DIFFERENT SCHOOLS IN A YEAR.
THOUGH MANY ARE CITIZENS BY BIRTH, FEW SPEAK ENGLISH WELL WHEN THEY ENTER SCHOOL. THEIR
PARENTS ARE MIGRANT FARM WORKERS WHO MOVE FREQUENTLY FOLLOWING HARVEST OF SEASONAL CROPS.
SOUTH CAROLINA'S FORESTRY, PEACH AND POULTRY INDUSTRY DRAW MANY MIGRANT WORKERS AND HAVE
THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF POPULATION GROWTH. CURRENT LATINOS REPRESENT 5% OF THE STATE'S POPULATION
AND THAT FIGURE IS EXPECTED TO DOUBLE OVER THE NEXT 25 YEARS. THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE THAT
LATINO CHILDREN FACE IN A SCHOOL WHICH THEIR CLASSMATES DO NOT IS THAT SOMETIMES THEY DON'T
UNDERSTAND THE LANGUAGE THAT IS BEING SPOKEN. THEY GET NERVOUS THEY DON'T ENJOY SCHOOL AND
FROM THIS MOMENT ON, THEY BEGIN TO DISLIKE EDUCATION. COMPARED TO THEIR PEERS, LATINO
CHILDREN ARE LESS LIKELY TO DEMONSTRATE COGNITIVE AND LITERACY READINESS SKILLS WHEN THEY ENTER
SCHOOL. THAT GAP IS REFLECTED IN THE HIGH SCHOOL GRADURATION RATE.
THE LATINO RATE OF GRADUATION IS ONLY 63% WHEN
COMPARED TO 78% FOR ALL SOUTH CAROLINA STUDENTS. LARGELY FUNDED BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES THE EAST COAST MIGRANT HEAD START PROJECT
SERVES MIGRANT CHILDREN FROM BIRTH TO AGE 5 USING CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE STRATEGIES OF
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION MIGRANT HEAD START PREPARES ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING LATINO
CHILDREN FOR A SMOOTH TRANSITION TO PUBLIC SCHOOL
>>CHILDREN WHO COME TO THIS COUNTRY HAVE TO ACQUIRE THE SECOND LANGUAGE IN ORDER TO
BE ABLE TO READ, WRITE, UNDERSTAND, AND COMMUNICATE.
RED, SAY RED VERY GOOD, VERY GOOD.
LANGUAGE PROGRAMS HELPS KIDS UNDERSTAND AND NAVIGATE THE EDUCATIONAL
SYSTEM. THIS IS A STEPPING STONE FOR THEM TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC CAREER.
>>MIGRANT HEAD START ALSO PROVIDES EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR PARENTS. PARENTS PLAY AN IMPORTANT
ROLE IN NURTURING THEIR CHILDREN'S EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS. WHEN PARENTS ARE INVOLVED IN THEIR
CHILDREN'S SCHOOLING AND USE EDUCATIONAL PARENTING PRACTICES AT HOME THEIR CHILDREN ARE SIGNIFICANTLY
LESS LIKELY TO DROP OUT OF SCHOOL. >>WE TRY TO PROVIDE A WELL ROUNDED EDUCATION
TO NOT ONLY THE CHILDREN BUT ALSO THE PARENTS. WE DO TRAININGS IN
FAMILY LITERACY, IN NUTRITION, AND TRANSITION TO PUBLIC SCHOOL THINGS LIKE THAT SO THE PARENTS
CAN BE BETTER PREPARED TO UNDERSTAND AND ADVOCATE. EVERY PARENT INCLUDING US LATINOS WE CARE
ABOUT EDUCATION OF OUR CHILDREN. BUT THE EDUCATION
SYSTEM IN THE UNITED STATES IS VERY DIFFERENT THAN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM IN LATIN AMERICAN
COUNTRIES. IT'S NOT THAT WE ARE NOT INVOLVED IN OUR COUNTRIES
IT IS THAT THE SYSTEM IS VERY DIFFERENT. TEACHING PARENTS HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS, IT
IS A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE
THAT TOOL OF, NUMBER ONE, EMPOWERMENT, AND NUMBER
TWO, UNDERSTANDING THAT INVOLVEMENT IN YOUR CHILDREN'S EDUCATION IN THIS COUNTRY IS VERY
MUCH APPRECIATED AND EXPECTED FROM PARENTS.
>>OVER THE COURSE OF A SEASON AT AN EAST COAST MIGRANT HEAD START CENTER PRESCHOOL STUDENTS
INCREASE THEIR COMPETENCY IN THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE AND MAKE GAINS IN WRITTEN AND SPOKEN
ENGLISH. THEY ALSO DEVELOP THEIR MATH, SCIENCE
LOGIC, REASONING AND SOCIAL SKILLS. THESE SKILLS ALONG WITH THE PARENTING EDUCATION
MIGRANT HEAD START PROVIDES, REDUCES THE GAP BETWEEN LATINO STUDENTS
AND THEIR PEERS. >>THE PROGRESS THAT I SEE
IN MY STUDENTS IS WHEN MY STUDENTS ENTER SCHOOL, THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO READ OR
EXPRESS THEMSELVES, THEY AREN'T SOCIABLE. BUT WHEN THEY LEAVE FROM HERE THEY ARE SOCIABLE
AND ARE READY TO LEARN IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL.
>>THE FACE OF OUR NATION IS CHANGING RAPIDLY. ACCORDING TO THE US CENSUS BUREAU, THE MAJORITY
OF AMERICANS UNDER AGE TWO ARE CHILDREN OF COLOR
AND ONE IN THREE IS POOR. THE SOCIETAL COST OF
NEGLECTING THESE CHILDRENS NEEDS CAN BE MEASURED IN LOSS OF HUMAN POTENTIAL AND TAXPAYER DOLLARS.
ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR EARLY EDUCATION RESEARCH PROVIDING HIGH QUALITY
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE STRATEGY FOR REDUCING RACIAL GAPS IN SCHOOL
READINESS. IT SIGNIFICANTLY BOOSTS CHILDREN'S CHANCES OF GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL
AND BEING CAREER READY LATER IN LIFE. BY INVESTING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION,
SOUTH CAROLINA CAN PREPARE ALL CHILDREN TO BECOME
PRODUCTIVE MEMBERS OF OUR FUTURE WORKFORCE.