A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Roles for Education Paraprofessionals in Effective Schools - 1997

A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Migrant Head Start Program

Dysart Unified School District
El Mirage, Arizona

Empowering Parents to Educate Children

  • Program recruits parent educators from migrant community
  • Training includes theory, practice, and follow-up coaching
  • Professional development focuses on site-specific curriculum

Overview

As a migrant worker, Señora J. was often apart from her extended family; she had few long-term friends with whom to share the daily challenges of parenting a preschooler. But once she moved to Dysart Unified School District's attendance area, she discovered a Head Start program that offered classes for both herself and her four-year-son. The parent classes gave Señora J. the support that her relatives were unable to provide. Furthermore, her son, formerly quiet and reserved, became a sociable little chatterbox thanks to Señora J.'s encouragement at home and his preschool experience. Now a parent trainer, Señora J. enjoys interacting with other parents in the community.

The Migrant Head Start program in Dysart Unified School District serves 75 children through federal migrant education funds and Head Start grants. Parents of children in the program may participate in training to improve their ability to promote children's development. Some parents learn to work as paraprofessionals while others learn to run the parent center. Currently, a migrant parent acts as a health care liaison, referring parents to appropriate services and testing children for health problems.

Major Program Features

The Dysart program features three strands of training for migrant parents. After initial training (Level I), parents work as interns in either the prekindergarten program or the parent center. More advanced training (Level II) prepares them to serve as paraprofessionals in kindergarten. Completing the third training component equips them to become paraprofessional parent trainers.

Parent Mentors

Hired by the Dysart Migrant Head Start program director, parent mentors are migrant parents who, after completing their own training, recruit and train parents both in the preschool program's curriculum and in parenting skills. Mentors work in the parent activity center, which is furnished with tables, a sewing machine, a desk, and other materials to make it comfortable and attractive. Parent mentors help parents make educational materials to use at home with their children; they also help parents plan interesting activities for their children. Parent mentors may attend continuing professional development through the Migrant Head Start program, which also includes teachers and other staff. Parent mentors are encouraged to earn GEDs and other certifications at the local community college. Some mentors have received funds from the migrant program to pursue training and education.

Level I Training: Prekindergarten Program

Having established a connection with school through the parent center, many migrant parents decide to participate in more formal training activities, taught in part by parent mentors who are graduates of this program. Originally funded through a Title VII grant, parent training is now funded through the migrant program. Level I offers participants 16 hours of sessions that focus on child behavior and development, language acquisition, and instructional techniques. At these sessions parents are encouraged to discuss their own backgrounds and real-life examples of the challenges of child rearing. Parents learn how to facilitate children's learning through talking, creative activities, and positive discipline. They also learn about the AESOP curriculum--At-Risk Educational System Organized for Preschool--a hands-on, structured program designed to maximize children's language experiences, which was developed by several local educational experts who provide intensive training to help parent mentors accelerate students' language learning. After completing Level I activities, parents can apply and sharpen their new skills by working as paid interns for two weeks in a migrant preschool or Head Start classroom, for which they receive a stipend of $96. Parents are also encouraged to pursue further education in the Parent Activity Center, where they can earn their GED or study English as a second language.

Level II Training: Kindergarten Program

In 1991-92, a $27,000 local grant from the Arizona Community Foundation, supplemented with a migrant grant, funded Level II training for selected parent volunteers to become kindergarten paraprofessionals. Parents who had completed Level I training demonstrated their skill level through an outcomes-based checklist. Those parents who were selected received intensive training in K-TALK and K-READ, which are companion curricula to AESOP that also focus on language learning and literacy for at-risk kindergarten students.

To review language acquisition, child development and behaviors, and instructional techniques, paraprofessionals participated in about 25 hours of instruction over two weeks during December 1991. Sometimes meeting with the cooperating teachers, paraprofessionals clarified their roles in implementing K-TALK and K-READ. Once they completed the program, they served as interns in the kindergarten classes for two weeks under the supervision of program instructors. Twelve paraprofessionals worked in the kindergarten classrooms from January to June 1992. Throughout the project, they met daily with the project coordinator to discuss and resolve problems and issues; the coordinator also met with teachers weekly to receive their input. During the daily meetings, the paraprofessionals received a mini-lesson from the coordinator on instructional techniques and ideas to use in the classroom.

Level III: Parent Trainers

Parents who preferred parent training to classroom work with students participated in a third tier of learning experiences organized by the program developers. At this level, they worked on issues more relevant to working with adult learners.

When funds ran out at the end of the 1991-92 school year, many of the participating paraprofessionals were hired by the district at other grade levels. The district now uses a new kindergarten curriculum. However, the principals involved in the project have asked for the continuation of the migrant parent paraprofessional project, an option that is being considered by the curriculum developers.

Evidence of Success

So far, more than 200 parent volunteers have learned how to support their children's education. In 1993, data showed that 90 percent of former migrant Head Start students made it through the sixth grade without failing, compared with 62 percent of non-Head Start students. An article on the program's effectiveness was read into the Congressional Record, and the program was commended by the U.S. Department of Education in 1993. Some parent volunteers have gone on to pursue GEDs and other certifications, including higher education degrees. Two parents who earned their Child Development Associate certificates have become Head Start teachers.
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