Migrant students facilitate
graduation with
summer PASS courses

By Carol Hansen Devine
Secondary Education for Migrant Youth

In 20 Washington school districts, migrant high school students have been preparing this summer to graduate from high school using the semi-independent PASS curriculum. 

Some, like Armando in Yakima, needed only one more course to receive a high school diploma.  Juan of Wenatchee was happy to be finishing a PASS course he had begun earlier this spring. 

With the help of dedicated classroom teachers working with small groups of students, even teenagers who have failed a course before suddenly discover they understand what they are learning with the PASS curriculum, and they succeed. 

Success in this summer program can renew students’ confidence and enthusiasm for school, and their progress is achieved quickly. 

In as little as four weeks, a teenager enrolled in summer school can often complete a high school course that takes several months in the regular school year.  Angelo completed an economics course he had been dreading, and found he was really good at.

Some courses, like Advanced Algebra, are simply easier to understand when the student can study at her own pace and receives individual attention of a skilled tutor.

Even students who are doing well in school find taking a class in summer helps.  For example, Cynthia chose to improve her math skills so she can move directly into college courses without having to take remedial classes.

Do you still remember how frightened you used to get when it was time to be tested in school?  And how long it took to get your grade back? 

The curriculum also helps reduce text anxiety and expedites the testing process.

In PASS courses, students are tested separately on what they have learned in one unit of a course before they move to the next unit.  So they never have to review the whole course in preparation for a test. 

Within minutes of answering test questions on the computer, the student receives his score and knows whether he is ready to move on in the course, or whether he needs to review and test again.  

Either way, the stress is less and success more readily achieved.

High school counselors should encourage migrant students to enroll in summer school and in the semi-independent study PASS curriculum any time during the year in order to keep up with peers who do not face the same challenges of mobility, poverty and language that migrant kids frequently face. 

And migrant parents should be encouraged to enroll their children in summer school when they have that opportunity and to help ensure that their children attend each day.