Migrant Local Identification and Recruitment Plan

Title I, Part C: Education of Migratory Children
Local Identification and Recruitment Plan

I. Identification & Recruitment Planning & Implementation

• Frequency of Meetings

  • Question: How often will the Migrant Education Program contact meet with local identification and recruitment staff (recruiters and supplemental service providers or student support providers) to monitor the implementation of this Identification and Recruitment Plan (minimum of once a semester and summer)?
  • Answer: Migrant Education Program contacts and the identification and recruitment staff will meet at least once each quarter. The last meeting of the school year will include an item on summer identification and recruitment planning. Identification and recruitment during the summer will occur as needed.

• Year Round Recruitment and Staff Schedule Requirements

  • Describe how the district will manage and coordinate year-round (regular school year and summer) and ongoing recruitment efforts for enrolled and out-of-school youth including pre-school aged children;
  • Describe how staff’s schedules will be flexible during peak periods of agricultural activity, visits to seasonal and temporary work sites such as; farms, packing sheds, and meat processing plants; such as poultry, beef, or lumber mills; and
  • Include narrative that ensures the use of the identification and recruitment activities' checklist to guarantee all identification and recruitment activities are taking place at the appropriate time with required documentation.

• How requirements will be met

  • Bulloch County Schools uses an occupational survey, which is embedded in both the district's Family Registration Form and Data Census Verification Form, to identify potential migrant students. The occupational survey asks a series of questions, as per federal regulations, to assist in identifying students who may qualify for Migrant Education Program services.
  • A system liaison from the Migrant Educational Program and/or a migrant student support provider will make contact with each potential migrant family to determine case-by-case eligibility and needs once a new or returning student enrolls in Bulloch County Schools.
  • Because Bulloch County Schools operates on a balanced calendar, the summer is abbreviated.
  • If it is noted that new families who may qualify have moved into the area, then a migrant school support provider will make a visit to conduct an interview.
  • The identification and recruitment activities will be updated as needed and student support providers will visit employers, camps, neighborhoods, agencies and other community places where migrant families and/or out-of-school youth may work or reside.
  • Because agricultural schedules are flexible and may change based on peak periods, regular work hours may be flexible:
    • January: Harvesting onions, Pinestraw, picking of other greens, and cleaning the fields
    • February: Harvesting onions, Pinestraw, picking of other greens and cleaning the fields
    • March: Pinestraw , pruning the orange trees and cleaning the fields
    • April: Pinestraw, pruning the orange trees, carrots and cleaning the fields
    • May: Pinestraw, carrots and cleaning the fields
    • June: Pinestraw, onions, watermelons, cantaloupe,tomatoes,carrots, blueberries and cleaning the fields
    • July: Pinestraw, peanuts, onions, watermelons, cantaloupe, tomatoes, carrots, blue berries and cleaning the fields
    • August: Pinestraw, peanuts and cleaning the fields
    • September: Pinestraw, peanuts and cleaning the fields
    • October: Pinestraw, peanuts , pecans,harvest oranges and other greens and cleaning the fields
    • November: Pinestraw, peanuts, pecans, harvest oranges and other greens and cleaning the fields
    • December: Pinestraw, peanuts, pecans, harvest oranges other greens and cleaning the fields

• Identifying and contacting potentially eligible migratory families

  • Question: How will the district coordinate with regional and state Migrant Education Program staff for identifying and contacting potentially eligible migratory families, targeting enrollees and non-enrollees (ages 0 to 21), and ensure certificates of eligibility are completed as needed (within two days)?
  • Answer: The Bulloch County migrant student support providers work closely with the Migrant Education Program office and communicate with them each week. The student support providers dedicate the month of August for identification and recruitment as well as one morning each week for the remainder of the year. In addition, relevant professional development is provided by the Georgia Department of Education and attended by the migrant student support providers so that certificates of eligibility are completed in a timely manner (preferably two days) as per federal regulations. 

• Contacting Eligible Children & Youth if a qualifying move has occurred

  • Question: How will the district contact currently eligible migratory children and youth to determine if new qualifying moves have occurred and ensure certificates of eligibility are completed as needed?
  • Answer: During the re-sign period and after school breaks the migrant student support provider will call or make a home visit to set up an interview. Training in the requirements for certificates of eligibility is attended by the migrant student support provider to ensure that these are completed correctly and as needed.

• Occupational Survey

  • Question: How will the district ensure the occupational survey (which is completed by all students during new student registration and back-to-school registration) is gathered, reviewed, and prioritized for further follow up to identify potential migratory children and youth? Include a reference to training local school staff about the process.
  • Answer: Bulloch County Schools uses an occupational survey, which is embedded in the district's online Family Registration Form for new enrollees and a Data Census Verification Form for returning students, to identify potential migrant students during the back-to-school registration. If there is an occupational survey that warrants further attention the Federal Programs Office will be automatically contacted. A follow up for each potential migrant family is provided in a timely fashion, preferably within two days. 

• Using Community Collaboration to Identify Eligible Participants

  • Question: How will the district coordinate with other agencies, organizations, and/or gather resources to build a recruitment network to identify potentially eligible migratory participants?
  • Answer: Regional recruiters and local families are a great help to our district in identifying students who move into our area who were previously receiving services in another county. In addition, our district collaborates with churches, the health department, food banks and bus drivers. The Migrant Student Information Exchange also notifies the migrant student support providers that a migrant student has moved to our area. Migrant student support providers utilize telephone calls and visits within a day or two upon hearing of a newcomer's arrival. 

II.  School District & Local Agricultural Information

• Map & Profiles of Local Agricultural Employment Locations

  • Question: How will the district create and/or maintain a current local agricultural or employment locations map containing profiles of employers, if applicable, agricultural activities, crops and/or growing seasons in your area? Please explain how this information will be updated during the year (each semester minimum).
  • Answer: The local education agency's local agricultural map will contain employment locations, agricultural activities, crops and growing seasons. There will be a development of an employer roster that will include business names, business addresses, and names and phone numbers of contact individuals. This will be done through recruiting weekly, contacting by phone or home visits with local crew leaders and farmers in the community.

• Maps where eligible families may reside

  • Question: How will the district create and or maintain a local residential map that includes the areas, neighborhoods, labor camps, and apartment complexes where migratory families may reside? Please explain how this information will be updated during the year (each semester minimum).
  • Answer: The locations of migrant participants and residences or areas where families may reside will be plotted on a map. By maintaining a good working relationship with farmers, crew leaders, migrant families and local agencies, this information will be updated each semester.

• Contacting Employers of Eligible Families

  • Question: What is the district’s plan for contacting employers within its boundaries regarding hiring practices, crops and growing seasons in order to identify potentially new eligible migratory families?
  • Answer: Each semester the migrant student support providers will contact local farmers to add updated information to the maps and rosters.

• Location of School District's Identification & Recruitment Information

  • Question: The district’s list of agricultural activities, local agricultural map, residential map, and list of employers must be readily available to be shared with the Georgia Department of Education's Migrant Education Program staff throughout the current school year when requested and/or needed. Where will this information be stored in the district? (Please ensure to keep all this information current and on file).
  • Answer: Bulloch County Schools' identification and recruitment information is available in the Federal Programs Director's office at the Central Office, located at 150 Williams Road, Suite A, in Statesboro, Georgia.

III. Reminders

• The Georgia Migrant Education Program's Identification and Recruitment and Data Collections Handbook is the primary source of
• information for all aspects of identification and recruitment.
• All quality control procedures must follow the Georgia Migrant Education Program Identification and Recruitment and Data Collections Handbook quality control descriptors.
• We use the Georgia Migrant Education Program's State Agricultural Activities map as a starting point when creating our local agricultural map.
• Our local agricultural map must include information unique to our area and compliment the Georgia Migrant Education Program's state agricultural map with information not currently identified or found in it.