NATIONAL WORK GROUP ADDRESSES MIGRANT HEALTH ISSUES

Francisco Garcia, director of the Office of Migrant Education of the U.S. Department of Education, assembled a select group of individuals in Philadelphia from across the United States to review past and current activities that effectively deliver health and social services to migrant students increasing their academic success. 

Members identified numerous factors key to student success, including:

• The development of collaborative partnerships to maximize and utilize available resources, including parents, health providers, social services, schools, service groups, and volunteer groups, such as AMERICORPS.
• Development of a heightened awareness and greater focus on migrant health issues with an emphasis on school readiness.  Existing models which could be replicated to satisfy state and local needs were examined.
• The development of an electronic intra and interstate system to transmit student health and education records that can be accessed quickly especially by high school counselors for credit transfer and accrual.

The group met again a second time in Washington, D.C. to continue researching strategies to expand health access for migrant students.  The outcomes will be addressed in the next edition of Migrant Education News.

Front row left to right:  Francisco Garcia, Director, Office of Migrant Education, U.S. Department of Education; Mary Anne Hay, Northeast Arkansas Migrant Education Cooperative; Mary Ellen Good, RN, MS, MPH, Director of Federal Programs, Centennial BOCES, Greeley, CO; Lisa Ramirez, Principal, Ramirez Charter School, Lubbock, TX; Alyson Platzer, Community Liaison, Centennial BOCES, Greeley, CO;  Back row left to right:  Mary Lou de Leon Siantz, PhD RN FAAN, Director, Milagros Center of Excellence in Migrant Health, School of Nursing and Health Studies, Georgetown University, Washington, DC; Philip Kellerman, President, Harvest of Hope Foundation, Gainesville Florida; and Mike Taylor, Migrant Health State Supervisor, North Central Educational Service District, Wenatchee, WA.