PLANNING AND EVALUATION SERVICE THE SAME HIGH STANDARDS FOR MIGRANT STUDENTS: HOLDING TITLE I SCHOOLS ACCOUNTABLE Volume III: Coordinating the Education of Migrant Students: Lessons Learned from the Field FINAL REPORT 2002 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY DOC #2002-26 VOLUME III: COORDINATING THE EDUCATION OF MIGRANT STUDENTS: LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE FIELD SUBMITTED BY: Alexander Goniprow Gary Hargett Nicholas Fitzgerald George Washington University Center for Equity and Excellence in Education Arlington, Va. PREPARED FOR: U.S. Department of Education Office of the Under Secretary 2002 U.S. Department of Education Rod Paige Secretary Office of the Under Secretary Eugene W. Hickock Under Secretary Planning and Evaluation Service Alan L. Ginsburg Director Elementary Secondary Education Division Ricky T. Takai Director September 2002 This report is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. While permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should be: U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Under Secretary, The Same High Standards for Migrant Students: Holding Title I Schools Accountable, Volume III: Coordinating the Education of Migrant Students: Lessons Learned from the Field, Washington, D.C., 2002. To order copies of this report, write: ED Pubs Education Publications Center U.S. Department of Education P.O. Box 1398 Jessup, MD 20794-1398; Or via electronic mail, send your request to: [email protected]. You may also call toll-free: 1-877-433-7827 (1-877-4-ED-PUBS). If 877 service is not yet available in your area, call 1-800-872-5327 (1-800-USA-LEARN). Those who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a teletypewriter (TTY), should call 1-800-437-0833. To order online, point your Internet browser to: www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html. This report is also available on the Department’s Web site at: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/PES/ed_for_disadvantaged.html#migranted http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/OME/pubs.htm On request, this publication is available in alternative formats, such as Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette. For more information, please contact the Department’s Alternate Format Center (202) 205-8113. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Coordinating the Education of Migrant Students: Lessons Learned from the Field is the product of collaboration among educators concerned with enhancing the educational continuity and academic progress of migrant children. The ideas and experiences presented on these pages reflect a significant array of promising practices from dedicated educators working together in state education agencies, regional education offices, local school districts, special resource centers, universities, and summer programs. While every person involved in the study helped to produce the results, I want to first thank the local and state educators we visited who generously provided us with their time and access to their programs and materials. I especially want to acknowledge the work of Gary Hargett and Nicholas Fitzgerald who were senior members of the research team that was responsible for the design, analysis and report writing of the cases. I greatly appreciated their professionalism and spirit of camaraderie. I want to thank Barbara Hicks, a research associate at GW, who served as the research team’s information specialist. Barbara Hicks was particularly helpful in researching and collecting documents for the literature review. I would also like to thank Bob Levy, director of ESCORT, who served as an informal advisor to the study and helped provide insight and perspective on interstate coordination efforts. A special thank you to Francisco Garcia, James English, and Jeffrey Wilde of the Office of Migrant Education who worked with us to establish the focus of the study, revise the study’s data collection and analysis plan, provide input on the selection of cases, and review the report. I would like to thank our project liaison, Allison Henderson of Westat, for her assistance with the study’s design, counsel during the study’s implementation, and comments on our work. I also appreciate the input and guidance of our ED technical representatives, Martha Chavez and Robin Bouckris, and Beth Franklin in their efforts to make the study run smoothly and in the critique of our report. Alexander Goniprow Project Director iii CONTENTS Page Acknowledgments Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................i I. Background ............................................................................................................................. 1 Purpose of the Study ....................................................................................................... 1 Background and Selected Review of the Literature.......................................................... 1 Study Questions and Methodology of the Study .............................................................. 6 Organization of the Report .............................................................................................. 8 II. Study Findings: Cross Case Analysis.................................................................................... 10 Conditions Leading to Discontinuity of Education......................................................... 10 Educational Consequences of Discontinuity .................................................................. 11 Selection of Strategies to Promote Coordination across Sites......................................... 12 Promising Approaches Used to Enhance Continuity of Instruction ................................ 13 Implementation Problems or Obstacles.......................................................................... 20 Cross-cutting Themes.................................................................................................... 21 III. Conclusions and Implications............................................................................................. 28 References Appendix A: Case Studies iv EXHIBITS Page Exhibit 2.1 Conditions That Led to Educational Discontinuity for Migrant Students............ 10 Exhibit 2.2 Range of Promising Approaches Used to Enhance the Continuity of Instruction ..................................................................................................... 13 Exhibit 2.3 Examples of “Alignment of District Policies” as a Means of Enhancing Continuity of Instruction .............................................................. 14 Exhibit 2.4 Examples of “Improved Student Information Access & Exchange” As a Means of Enhancing Continuity of Instruction ........................................... 15 Exhibit 2.5 Examples of “Staff Resources to Promote Credit Accrual” as a Means of Enhancing Continuity of Instruction ............................................ 16 Exhibit 2.6 Examples of “Opportunities for Supplemental Instruction” as a Means of Enhancing Continuity of Instruction ............................................ 17 v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background A growing body of research has documented the detrimental effect that changing schools has on students’ academic performance. Migrant students are among the most mobile of all students, since they must change schools to accompany their families as they move to pursue seasonal agricultural employment. One of the roles of Title I, Part C, the Migrant Education Program (MEP), is to implement strategies to redress students’ educational disruption. To contribute to the knowledge base on effective practices for promoting educational quality and continuity for migrant students, the U.S. Department of Education’s Planning and Evaluation Service supported this study, conducted by researchers at the George Washington University’s Center for Educational Equity and Excellence, in cooperation with Westat, Inc. The purpose of this study is to illustrate a range of approaches used to promote continuity of instructional service for migrant students and to identify promising practices tailored to promote instructional continuity. The study entailed case studies of district migrant education programs, chosen on the basis of nominations from state directors. Four groups of two or three districts that share students who move back and forth between them were chosen for study (referred to as Trading Partners). The researchers selected four cases for the study: Case Study One: Weslaco Independent School District, Weslaco, Texas & Pasco School District, Pasco, Washington Case Study Two: Eagle Pass Independent School District, Eagle Pass, Texas & Sidney School District, Sidney, Montana Case Study Three: Donna Independent School District, Donna, Texas; Van Buren Intermediate School District, Lawrence, Michigan; & Manatee County Office of Education, Bradenton, Florida Case Study Four: Yuma School District #1, Yuma, Arizona & Alisal School District, Salinas, California A member of the research team visited each site between June 1998 and December 1998. The researchers conducted interviews with key staff; observed service delivery and coordination mechanisms; and inspected relevant documents, which included available achievement data. i This report is a cross-case report on the findings relative to the six research questions and illustrates several cross -cutting themes. Appendix A contains detailed case studies. KEY FINDINGS • The case studies revealed that the Trading Partners shared a set of common themes that led