Migrant Education Programs in New Jersey
By Kathleen Fernandez, Executive Director NJTESOL/NJBE
The Migrant Education Program offered by the NJDOE has been in existence since the 1970’s. It provides supplemental instruction and support services for children of “migrant workers”. Who qualifies as a migrant worker? For many years, I believed that this included only people who worked on agricultural farms, but the definition is much broader. It includes families where parents may work at a dairy, fishery, or meat processing plant. It is worth a district’s effort to find out if students may qualify for the program.
There are many opportunities available to students who qualify including after-school tutoring for children with identified needs, and other provided services such as medical, dental and vision care, home/school coordination, social service referrals, translation, student records transfer, and parental involvement activities. There are also summer programs, school supplies, and backpacks available.
To find out more in North Jersey, join one of these webinars:
The Essex Regional Educational Services Commission (ERESC) Migratory Education Program (MEP) on behalf of the New Jersey Department of Education invites you to a webinar focusing on the Title I, Part C, MEP eligibility criteria, how to effectively identify migratory children and youth, and how to serve students who are eligible under the federal program.
3/10/26 (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth Counties)– Serving Migratory Eligible Out-of-School Youth & Head Start Students
3/11/26 (Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, Warren Counties)-–Serving Migratory Eligible Out-of-School Youth & Head Start Students
In South Jersey, register for the Burlington County Chapter meeting of NJTESOL/NJBE on March 30 at 4:00. We will have a presentation by Janette Perez, the Southern New Jersey Region Migrant Education Program Coordinator of NJ. Ms. Perez will discuss the work eligibility determiners of migrant students/families and the programs available to them. We encourage members from every South Jersey county to attend. Please share this information with administrators.
Register here, and the email link with the Zoom information will be sent to you the day of the meeting. School email addresses tend to reject Eventbrite emails, so please use a personal email address and check to make sure you get an email confirming registration today.
“You’re so lucky to live in the United States,” a friend said, and I answered, “Just luck? You don’t have any idea what my family and I had to do to come here and what we keep doing and trying to understand every day to keep living here.” That’s why these are three ways the government can help immigrants adjust their lives in this country, making the challenge of living in another country a little easier.
