A Moment with Dr. Moore

An Education of the Heart: The Impact of Migrant and Seasonal Head Start

“The end of all knowledge should surely be service to others,” as Cesar Chavez pointed out. We honor him this month as a founder of United Farm Workers and a fighter for Latino civil rights. His commitment to these causes came from his difficult early years growing up in the U.S. as a child of migrant parents. Chavez was born on March 31,1927, to a Mexican American family in Yuma, Arizona. The family moved to California in 1938, after losing their farm and becoming migrant workers who performed field work throughout the state. While growing up, Chavez attended 37 different schools through eighth grade when he, too, went to work in the fields. And though he later became an icon, he didn’t forget his past. “It is not enough to progress as individuals,” he said, “while our friends and neighbors are left behind.”

And many migrant children from across our country’s border still go through the struggles that Chavez faced, putting them at a disadvantage during their most formative years. Their parents may deal with poor health conditions and extreme poverty, along with lack of access to safe, affordable child care that can meet the demands of their seasonal work in the agricultural sector. In most communities, child care isn’t available, especially for infants and toddlers, during peak harvest season, when farm workers must work 10 to 12 hours a day under harsh conditions that include exposure to pesticides, hazardous equipment and extreme heat. Yet “our very lives are dependent, for sustenance, on their sacrifice and sweat,” as Chavez pointed out. So, “children of farm workers should be as proud of their parents’ professions as other children are.”

Sadly, the parents’ work takes a toll on their children, said Cleofas Rodriguez Jr., executive director of the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association (MSHSA). And he speaks from first-hand experience because his parents once worked in the fields. Migrant families sometimes have to make hard choices about child care, including leaving children in the care of an older sibling, leaving them alone in a car or bringing them to work where they, too, face exposure to chemicals, heavy equipment and heat. “So, our program is committed to ensuring that the children have a safe early learning environment,” Rodriguez said. And that’s not an easy task as I saw during my years as a regional program manager in Atlanta for the Office of Head Start.

Continuity of care was a particular challenge, as I came to learn, since migrant families are mobile and move from one place to another as the farming calendar shifts. They often transition from one MSHSA program to the next, so it’s a challenge to ensure that each program receives the information it needs to ensure the children keep up with their immunizations, dental treatment and schooling. To make it harder, many families often move between homeless shelters or don’t register their addresses since they’re afraid of immigration enforcement. In addition, many migrant families don’t know what services exist for them, so migrant programs have to go out in the community to connect with families at home and work.

“We need to go straight to where the families are,” Rodriguez has explained. And around the country, Migrant Head Start programs use various tactics to recruit the families and make them aware of the services that exist. At centers run by the Redlands Christian Migrant Association in Southern Florida, directors attract families by hiring assistant child care teachers straight from the places where migrants are employed. Staff members at the East Coast Migrant Head Start Project, based in Arlington, Virginia, keep close tabs on relocating families to help them find Migrant Head Start programs after each of their moves. And the Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County provides bus service to its centers in southwest California, besides opening centers inside migrant housing developments to make drop-off and pick-up easy for families.

Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs also provide a wide range of services to meet the families’ needs. They operate hours that accommodate long hours in the fields, offer care for infants and toddlers, and provide dual language services since most participants are from households where English isn’t the primary language. The programs are seasonal in nature, so they operate anywhere from six weeks to 12 months, depending on migration patterns. They also give parents a role in decision making since family engagement is a crucial part of Migrant Head Start programs.

Migrant Head Start staff take steps to understand what parents want and tailor their programs in response. So, some centers provide English as a second language classes and parenting symposiums inside their preschool classrooms. Others host discussions on healthy eating, immigration law and how to take care of children who are home sick. Dental vans make weekend stops to migrant housing sites, and when work is scarce, like it is during a drought, the centers provide information on where parents can find food baskets and financial aid.

The centers also look for staff who understand the issues that migrant children face. Many of the children had dangerous trips to the U.S. and once here, the migrant life style can be hard for them with its constant goodbyes. So can the fear of having a parent deported, said Kim Luna, who helped launch the East Coast Head Start Migrant Project in Jennings, Florida, and comes herself from a migrant family. “Some of the children are fine; they’re just a little withdrawn. But then you have others with behavioral issues” that trouble their teachers. Many of the children in Jennings had never been in a classroom before the center opened. So, in the children’s first days at the center, “the teachers would say, ‘They don’t sing, they don’t dance; they’re really quiet,’” Luna recalled. But she and her staff members worked hard for “the children to know they were safe.” And committed migrant Head Start teachers like these can foster a warm environment that helps the children build productive lives.

The teachers know the importance of seeing migrant children’s strengths, realizing how they enrich our country’s culture and praising their achievements to build self-esteem. And this involves an “education of the heart,” as Chavez explained. He didn’t believe that real education can be imparted through books alone. “It can only be imparted through the loving touch of a teacher.” So, early childhood teachers must get to know the children, listen to their stories and build a personal connection. “When you see the face of a child, you will have a different perspective,” said Karina Castillo, who served as director of the English language learners program at Jefferson Parish public schools in Louisiana. And migrant Head Start programs strive to build those bonds so they can bring out all children’s promise.

Migrant and Seasonal Head Start works, according to Lionor Galindo, the special projects coordinator for United Farm Workers legislative and policy team and the child of Spanish-speaking migrant parents. “As a young girl growing up in Sunnyside, Washington, I remember my parents having to take my siblings and me with them as they worked in the fields,” Galindo recalled. “So, my mother was thrilled when she learned that we qualified for an early learning program called Migrant and Seasonal Head Start. She could now have the peace of mind of knowing her children were in a safe place while she was at work. In the Head Start classroom, I not only learned English, but I also gained a strong understanding of the alphabet and numbers. In addition, Head Start taught me patience, manners, resilience and, above all, a love for learning,” Galindo said. Now she has a master’s degree in child development and has become a leader in organizing Cesar Chavez Day celebrations where she advocates for farm workers’ rights, community service and education.

“I feel it is my responsibility to ensure no child is forgotten,” Galindo has explained, “so they all have the educational opportunities they deserve.” And she attributes her sense of commitment to the early care and learning she received. “Migrant and Seasonal Head Start gave me the confidence to claim my seat at the table, tell my story and advocate for others,” Galindo has said. MSHSA not only inspired her to pursue higher studies and achieve success. It also helped her gain an education of the heart. She knows that “we cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community,” as Chavez pointed out. “Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.”