Agriculture is critical to the economies of Orange and San Diego Counties, and it depends on a skilled, mobile work force. Interruptions in the schooling of migrant children, caused by frequent crop-driven movement, pose a serious challenge to migrant children's academic achievement. Many are below grade level in reading, math and language skills; prime candidates to drop out of school. Others have dropped out already. Combined with the limited economic resources of most migrant families, these factors can easily become insurmountable without the services of the migrant education staff.

Migrant Education programs administered by the San Diego County Office of Education serve more than 8,200 students, ages 3-22, in 34 school districts. These programs use strategies in five areas to help migrant students meet the state's challenging content and performance standards.

Mission Statement
The mission of Migrant Education Region IX is to work collaboratively with school districts to meet the needs of migrant children through quality services, effective and efficient use of resources and innovative leadership.

Program Goals

• Preschool: Ensure migrant children are prepared to enter school healthy and ready to learn.
• At Risk Students: Increase the graduation rate of migrant students
• Professional Development: Increase the number of Bilingual Credentialed teachers to teach migrant students.
• Support Services: To enable migratory children to fully participate in the educational program by accessing necessary support services.
• Technology Services: To integrate information technology into the district program to track and electronically transfer migrant student data between schools.
• Recruitment: To locate the highly mobile migratory child and ensure they are provided with appropriate educational services.
• Parent Involvement: To encourage migrant parents to become involved in meaningful school planning to address the educational disruptions and other problems that result from repeated moves.
• Parent Training: Provide training which will support learning.

Migrant Education staff members are proud of their work and of the students they serve. They are committed to providing the finest possible educational program to every student they serve

If you are interested in helping the Migrant Education Program, know someone who might be eligible for the program, or have questions about any aspect of the program, please contact the Regional Migrant Education office at (760) 510-0250.