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June 15, 2007 09:37 am
New Head Start program to serve migrant children
CNHI News Service
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — An educaiton program will draw in children of migrant workers beginning next month in a partnership with Tahlequah Public Schools.
It’s more difficult for school districts to locate children who are only in their boundaries for a short time during the year. Many of the migrant parents do not speak English and are unaware of services provided.
Tahlequah Public Schools has joined with the Texas Migrant Council to offer a Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Program on the former Central School campus. The program, funded and administered by the council, will begin operation as soon as building improvements are completed and the staff is in place. This week, representatives of the council are in Tahlequah interviewing applicants for the program director.
The TMC, incorporated in 1971 as a nonprofit organization based in Laredo, began serving the children of migrant workers along the Texas-Mexico border. Program members moved north as the workers moved to plant and harvest various crops, according to the season. It began with a $250,000 budget, and has grown to an organization with a $100 million budget, providing programs in eight states along the central core of the United States.
Tahlequah and Hinton in Oklahoma are the most recent programs to be funded. Each will begin serving 33 students, and officials hope to expand to include more children, said Mary Capelo, chief executive officer.
The program will involve children from infancy until they are ready to attend public schools.
“We are one of the largest Head Start organizations in all the country,” Capelo said. Currently it serves approximately 8,000 migrant children.
Tahlequah (Okla.) Daily Press
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