My, How the Time Flies...

It always amazes me how quickly a year can pass...

I suppose the best way to summarize the past year is to say that it was both encouraging and challenging. I continue to be so impressed (not surprisingly) with the migrant families that I've had the pleasure of working with. Not only do I continue to marvel at their diligence at work and at home, but also their dedication to helping their children succeed in school, regardless of the barriers they face.

As new Parent Advisory Committee members are chosen in various school districts around Western Washington, I have the opportunity to meet and learn from such a varied group of individuals who are volunteering their limited free time to help us improve our programs for migrant students. Although they would be justified in refusing to serve on such committees, considering the meetings, workshops and events that are involved, these parents are showing their children (rather than just telling them) that education is important. I just hope that they benefit as much from these partnerships as we do.

The challenge, for me and the school district personnel who work with migrant parents, has been to engage a wider audience in this work. It is imperative that we work with the parents of migrant students who are the most at risk of not meeting academic standards, but many times, this is the most difficult group to reach. The more that we can include these parents in our planning, the more successful we will be in creating programs that will support their children in a relevant manner and catapult them toward success.

With the upcoming release of the Migrant Education Program's new 3-Year Service Delivery Plan, we will have a fresh opportunity to think about strategies for building partnerships with migrant families. I am truly excited about what is in store for us!