Experts from WestEd’s English Learner and Migrant Education Services will attend and present at the 2023 National Migrant Education Conference, April 30–May 3, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Our English Learner and Migrant Education Services team collaborates with professionals in schools, districts, regions, and State Education Agencies to promote success and enhance learning opportunities for English Learners, Multilingual Learners, and Migratory Students.
Our highly interactive sessions will address robust identification and recruitment and data practices for Migrant Education Programs, examine how to apply an equitable evaluation approach to evaluate programs, and explore how to create welcoming environments to support deep learning for migratory students, and more.
The National Association of State Directors of Migrant Education annually sponsors the conference to provide professional development, leadership, and networking opportunities for all persons concerned with the education of migrant children. The theme of the conference is “Sembrando Semillas, Cultivando Sueños/Planting Seeds, Cultivating Dreams.”
Review the schedule below for more details.
Please stop by BOOTH #11 in the exhibit area to meet our staff and learn about our research, resources, professional development services, and career opportunities.
Presentation Schedule
Monday, May 1
Session: Utilizing an Equitable Evaluation Approach to Guide Your MEP Evaluation
Time: 3:30 p.m.– 5:00 p.m.
Location: Navajo/Nambe
Presenter: Debra Benitez (WestEd) and Jocelyne Cardona (WestEd)
Tuesday, May 2
Session: I Belong Here! Creating Welcoming and Nurturing Environments to Support Deep Learning for Migratory Students
Time: 10:30 a.m.– 12:00 p.m.
Location: Aztec
Presenters: Liz Jameyson (WestEd) and Gabriela Garibay (WestEd)
In this interactive session, participants will explore the why and the how of creating contexts for deep learning for migratory students. The session will begin with discussion of the importance of belonging. We will then briefly explore the topic of neuroscience and how our brains thrive and create new neural pathways when supported by welcoming environments and trusting relationships.
Session participants will then examine the concept of building and nurturing an asset-oriented approach towards migratory students, followed by a discussion of affirming the identities of migratory students. The session will conclude with an interactive reading of a culturally relevant text and a discussion of key takeaways. Participants will walk away with a bolstered understanding of cultural responsiveness as both a moral and practical imperative, as well as actionable ideas for next steps within their context.
California Department of Education Session: Professional Learning Networks for Quality Identification and Recruitment
Time: 1:30 p.m.– 3:00 p.m.
Location: Isleta/Jemez
Presenters: Jamie Contreras (California Department of Education) with Liz Jameyson (WestEd) and Heather Medina (WestEd)
In this session, participants will learn about continuous improvement networks that California has used as one part of a robust system of quality controls to support our identification and recruitment component. This network has contributed to California subgrantees’ efforts to identify and recruit migratory children in a proper and timely manner. Presenters will share how subgrantees analyzed existing data to find opportunities for improvement, identified promising changes in practice, and implemented and tested those changes.
California Migrant Education counties and districts will be featured in a discussion of how they used this disciplined continuous improvement process to increase overall recruitment numbers, to close the gap between the qualifying arrival date and the recruitment date, and to maximize recruitments based on subsequent qualifying moves. The California Migrant Education Office and their Service Provider, WestEd, will co-present this session with a panel of California subgrantees. The session will include ample time for participant discussion and questions for the California subgrantee panel.
California Department of Education Session: Using Data to Provide Highly Relevant Services: California’s Implementation of Individual Needs Assessments and Learning Plans for All Migratory Children
Time: 3:30 p.m.– 5:00 p.m.
Location: Apache
Presenters: Juli Auld (California Department of Education) with Jose Valencia (WestEd) and Victor Garibay (WestEd)
In addition to conducting a comprehensive needs assessment at the state level and localized needs assessments at the Local Operating Agency (LOA) levels, California also has a requirement to create individual needs assessments and learning plans (INA/ILPs) for all migratory children on an annual basis. This requirement was codified in California’s Education Code in 2011. Since then, subgrantees developed various processes and forms to gather the information and meet the legislative mandate.
This session will share California’s recent work to standardize the data gathering process and move from paper-based approaches to leveraging its migrant student information system, MSIN, to develop an efficient web-based solution. The data gathered in the new electronic INA/ILPs is used to deliver the most relevant services to students, based on their specific needs. Furthermore, this data around individual student needs and service delivery is used to create reports that measure subgrantee progress toward meeting Measurable Program Objectives (MPO) in California’s State Service Delivery Plan (SSDP).
The results are that migratory students receive highly relevant services and local MEP staff can track their progress toward meeting local and state performance goals.
California Department of Education Session: Promising Local Practices: Selecting, Supporting, and Retaining an Effective I&R Workforce
Time: 3:30 p.m.– 5:00 p.m.
Location: Isleta/Jemez
Presenters: Jamie Contreras (California Department of Education) with Jocelyne Cardona (WestEd), Elvira Raya (WestEd), and Gabriela Garibay (WestEd)
An effective and stable I&R workforce is crucial for maintaining a strong identification and recruitment (I&R) component.
In this interactive session, facilitators and participants will explore, share, and discuss practices to help I&R coordinators, supervisors, and administrators in their efforts to establish, support, and retain their I&R workforces during times of unusual staff attrition influenced by various factors such as organizational constrains or the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
The session will begin with a brief overview of the California Migrant Education Program (MEP), including key I&R roles, and background information on why and how the California MEP began exploring solutions to the challenge of increased I&R staff turnover. Session participants will then have an opportunity to learn about I&R staff selection, support, and retention practices that have been useful at the subgrantee level in the state. County and district practices for hiring, onboarding, training, supporting, and supervising I&R staff will be featured, followed by small and large group discussions where participants will be asked to share their personal experiences and promising practices to strengthen their I&R workforces.
Participants will come away with additional ideas and actionable steps to consider in the context of their own states to help mitigate the negative effects of staff attrition and retain new and experienced staff in their I&R workforce.
Email Danny Torres, Associate Director of Events and Digital Media, for more information.