A Head Start for the Badillo Family

I recently had the opportunity to conduct a phone interview with Iralda Badillo, one of our team members at the ECMHSP Bowling Green Center, located in Florida West.  Keep reading to learn more about her professional growth since joining East Coast Migrant Head Start Project.

Can you please tell me about your background?

I was born in Mexico and came to the United States when I was eight-years old. We arrived in Jacksonville, Georgia during the tomato season.  My parents worked in the tomato fields for about two seasons, then traveled to Florida to pick strawberries and tomatoes.  Our next stop was up north in a small town in North Carolina named Burgaw.  There, my parents would pick blueberries.  Finding a place to live for the seven of us was always a challenge, but my parents managed to find a small trailer that I shared with my two brothers and two sisters.  About two years later, my parents separated.  My dad found a year-round job and my mom started traveling to follow the tomato, strawberry, and blueberry harvest.  For the next six years, I kept traveling between North Carolina, Florida, and New Jersey, depending where my mom was working.  I grew tired of switching schools every three to four months.  I also felt that I could do much better academically.  While attending Bartow High School in Florida during 11^th grade, I was offered a four-year scholarship to any university in Florida, but for personal reasons I wasn’t prepared to go to college.  Instead, I moved to New Jersey for senior year, but didn’t give it my all.  I barely went to classes and was dropped by the school.  Then it really hit me, and I knew I had to at least graduate from high school.  Every state runs their semesters differently, so if I stayed in New Jersey, I would’ve had to go to school an additional year.  I asked my dad to send me money so I could take the bus to North Carolina.  I was determined to graduate during that last semester.  I made the varsity soccer team and played midfielder.  Although my GPA dropped, I still graduated with a good GPA.  I was happy to graduate with friends I had gone to school with throughout the years.  After graduation, I moved to Florida with my older sister and started working at a tomato packing house.  I learned a lot and am always grateful for that opportunity.  Working with this company, we traveled from Florida to Virginia between the months of May and August.  I did this for two seasons, then I met my now husband.  We are currently married and have an eight-year-old daughter, a nine-month-old son, and a baby on the way. 

How did you start working for East Coast Migrant Head Start Project?

I started working with East Coast in September of 2014 as a Family Service Worker at the ECMHSP Myakka Center.  I did that position for almost three seasons, then I found out the Program Assistant position had become available.  I got the position thanks to my experience from previous jobs.  Now I am working at the ECMHSP Bowling Green Center, where Santiago, my youngest child has been attending since December.  I’m grateful to see him receiving Head Start services.  I absolutely love what I do!  The best part is that I get to engage with the families every day.

What does your Program Assistant position consist of?

I help with the daily operations of the center. I have human resources related responsibilities, such as on-boarding new hires and filing the paperwork for them.  I talk to each staff member at my center.  In addition, I process the center’s purchase orders and do a variety of monthly reports.

What are the resources that ECMHSP provides for you to be successful?

I work with specialists who are available to answer any questions that come up.  I enjoy the different trainings that I receive.  We get to discuss ideas from different centers and that helps us with problem-solving. 

How do you maintain strong relationships with parents?

I come from a family that went from state to state following the harvest seasons.  I have lived in similar environments.  We have a lot in common, my dad speaks the Mixteco dialect, which I find that a lot of parents here at Bowling Green speak. I let the parents know I am here to help interpret, or anything I can possibly do for them.  I know the struggles of working all day in the hot sun and rushing home to cook, clean, bathe kids, and prepare for the next day.  I try to do what I can to make life easier for our families and build their trust.   

What countries are primarily represented by your center’s farmworker families?  What kind of agricultural work do the families perform?

We currently have 83 children enrolled.  Our families are from Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala.  They work with blueberries, strawberries, tomatoes, and some orange.

As an individual, what do you hope to accomplish at the center this season?

I would like to get to know each parent by their name, as well as their children.  Serve our children and families to the best of our abilities, providing all the services they need to be successful.

Can you please share a challenge that you’ve had to overcome at your center?

I have been at the ECMHSP Bowling Green Center since October 22, 2018. Staff works differently and that can sometimes take some time to adapt to.  Every day I work with my co-workers and learn from each person’s area of expertise.  We all share the same mission.

What plans do you have for the future?

I want to go back to school and get a degree in human resources or business management.  I’m still trying to decide between the two career paths, but I know I love working to help people.  My goal is to start taking at least two online classes next year.

Thank you for taking the time to let me interview you, Iralda.  Thank you for always putting our farmworker families first.  We wish you a long career at ECMHSP!

All the News That’s Fit to Print

Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with The New York Times reporter, Jason DeParle.  The topic of our conversation was East Coast Migrant Head Start Project’s experience with Head Start’s Designation Renewal System (DRS).   This week, all that I shared with Jason was boiled down to a single cite: John Menditto of East Coast Migrant Head Start Project warns that harsh penalties may dissuade programs from serving especially disadvantaged populations like migrants.  If you know me, you know I had lots more to say than just that!

The article in The New York Times provided an excellent review of the pros and cons of DRS.   And as a special #FlashbackFriday post to From Harvest to Head Start, I wanted to share excerpts from the text of a speech I made a few years ago at the National Head Start Association’s Leadership Institute recounting our experience with DRS.  Enjoy!

Our migrant and seasonal farmworker parents work from sun up to sun down.

Lake City, South Carolina is a city in name only. According to the 2000 census, Lake City had a population of 6,478. Certainly not the population of a bustling city.  There isn’t a lake nearby either. What surrounds Lake City is farm land. Lots and lots of farm land. So much farm land, in fact, that 60 years ago, Lake City was known as the “Bean Capital of the World.”

As the decades passed, the crops grown in and around Lake City changed, as did their means and methods of harvesting. That is the one constant for Head Start grantees serving farmworker families. The communities we serve will always be linked to the land and to decisions about what to plant and when to plant made by large agri-business companies and smaller family farmers who own the land.

 By 2009, the crops bringing migrant farmworkers to lake city were peaches and tobacco. The farmworkers would begin to arrive with their children in June, taking up temporary residence in mobile home parks, often sharing trailers to make ends meet. While moms and dads would wake up before dawn to start preparing for their work in the tobacco field and peach orchards, a Head Start school bus driver with a team of bus monitors would navigate a school bus into the mobile home parks to collect their children aged zero to school age and bring them to our Head Start center. Those school bus routes would run five days a week throughout the summer and into the fall, when the farmworker families would depart in October back to Florida for the start of the citrus season.

Juan Rangel, a former ECMHSP student enrolled in college, is carrying a little boy from the Fields of Dream Head Start Center.

 Like many large Head Start grantees, East Coast delivers services in accordance with two models: in some local communities we deliver these services directly; and in other local communities we deliver these services through a contract with another non-profit with the capacity to deliver high-quality services in a local community. In Lake City, in 2009, East Coast contracted with Wateree Community Actions, Inc., a fantastic regional Head Start grantee dedicated to providing high-quality and comprehensive Head Start services.

 I often speak about the degree of difficulty of the mission we are trying to accomplish at East Coast and the degree of difficulty of the mission of our delegates like Wateree Community Actions, Inc. One area that contributes to this high degree of difficulty is the fact that the home language of parents whose children attend our Head Start program often is a language other than English. In South Bay, Florida, many farmworker families speak Creole; in Indiantown, Florida, many farmworker families speak indigenous languages. In the case of families attending the Lake City Head Start center – the home language of most families was Spanish.

While their parents work in the fields, ECMHSP provides these smiling children high-quality Head Start services.

 For Wateree Community Actions, Inc., in 2009, the home language of farmworker families created a real dilemma. As I noted at the outset, the population of Lake City is around 6,500, of that total only 68 individuals identified themselves as being of Hispanic origin. How is a Head Start program offering seasonal employment as infant teachers going to find degreed teachers who also are fluent in Spanish?

 Well, perhaps you are not surprised to learn that Wateree was not able to find degreed infant teachers who also were fluent in Spanish. What Wateree did have were experienced and degreed infant teachers, all of whom had taken introductory Spanish classes at the local community college.  And what Wateree did have were parent volunteers in the classroom who were fluent in Spanish.  And what Wateree did have was a deep commitment to learning and development of those children such that those children were in a safe and nurturing environment and not left back with babysitters who would be tasked with the responsibility of caring for multiple children in a crowded trailer.

 As you no doubt have surmised, Wateree’s inability to comply with a single Head Start performance standard – a standard that provides when a majority of children in a classroom speak a language, at least one classroom person must speak that language – was the single deficiency that put East Coast Migrant Head Start Project in the first re-competition cohort in December 2011.  One center, among more than 50 centers. A single deficiency for a high-quality Head Start grantee.

 And so began an 18-month odyssey into the deep end of the re-competition pool. Our journey began with our Board of Directors and our Policy Council having to make a number of important strategic decisions. In the for-profit world, they call these decisions “bet the company” decisions because a wrong choice could mean the end of the company.

 One decision was the governing bodies decision not to be involved in a high-profile lawsuit that was filed by many Head Start grantees challenging the legality of the designation renewal system. Instead, the Board and Policy Council endorsed a different approach: we would look at re-competition as an opportunity, not as a threat; and we would write an application that would compel the office of Head Start to fund us on our terms.

 Another important strategic decision was the decision to include all of our service areas in our application – even those service areas that involve the highest degree of difficulty. This, of course, is a basic flaw in the designation renewal system. When Head Start grantees are putting at risk all of its Head Start grant funds by operating a single center, there is a tremendous incentive to carve out those centers that are the hardest to operate – to carve out those centers with the greatest need. I am proud to say that the Board and Policy Council of East Coast never wavered in its commitment to operating centers that entail the greatest degree of difficulty – we never wavered in our commitment to serving families with the greatest needs.

 The degree of difficulty of what we do turned out to be our lifeguard in the recompetition pool. The only competition came from another migrant Head Start grantee in Florida, who sought to take away all of our Florida centers.  For us, providing high quality Head Start services to migrant farmworker families in Florida is relatively easy. Florida is the home base for our families. They reside in local communities from November through May and East Coast is able to recruit and hire bilingual and degreed Head Start teachers without the same degree of difficulty as we do in upstream locations like Chandler Mountain, Alabama, Parksley, Virginia, or Lake City, South Carolina. But, the decision of another migrant Head Start grantee to compete with East Coast proved to be the single best development in the re-competition process because it motivated us to write an application of exceptional quality.

 In addition, the competition we received had the effect of raising our profile within the Office of Head Start. Our regional program manager and Program specialist always knew about the phenomenal work we were accomplishing, but the director of the office of Head Start and other Senior leaders within OHS did not fully appreciate the Head Start mission we were fulfilling. Through the competition, OHS leadership learned in intimate detail, who we were. This reversal of fortune would not have been possible had it not been for the competition that was brought our way.

 As you know, our journey into the deep-end of the re-competition pool was a success.  We retained much of our Head Start service area.  However, re-competition did not leave us un-scathed. Two of our delegate agencies applied to receive funding directly from the office of Head Start and, as a result, East Coast is no longer responsible for the quality of Head Start services to farmworker families in Georgia or New York. In addition, we have transitioned more centers from a delegate agency model to a direct service model so that we could more closely monitor compliance with all of the Head Start Program Performance Standards.

Our staff prepares children to be successful in school.

But for East Coast, on a day-to-day basis, little has changed as a result of the designation renewal system and re-competition. East Coast was a high-quality Head Start program prior to recompetition and we are a high-quality Head Start program after re-competition.  Prior to recompetition we served families living in rundown mobile home parks and crowded labor camps; and after re-competition, we serve families living in rundown mobile home parks and crowded labor camps.  Prior to re-competition, East Coast operated Head Start centers in areas that involve the highest degree of difficulty; and after recompetition, we do the same.

 At East Coast Migrant Head Start Project, our Board, Policy Council and all of our dedicated staff wouldn’t change our mission for anything. We certainly wouldn’t change it because of the Designation Renewal System and recompetition.

Give a Head Start to this Holiday Season!

We are thrilled to kick-off our end of year Annual Friends & Family Campaign.

Our campaign funds vital support for farmworker families – such as the Michael P. Murphy Family Emergency Assistance Fund and our pro bono immigration services practice. You can learn more about the services and support we provide by visiting our website: http://www.ecmhsp.org.

This year we have set a goal of $25,000.  We know you will help us reach it.  Our 2018 Annual Friends & Family Campaign will run through January 15th.  One way you can get us off to a great start is by donating directly through this link: http://bit.ly/2RxsQY1

East Coast Migrant Head Start Project is committed to preparing the children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers for success.

During this holiday season, help us provide hope to our farmworker families.  We look forward to you supporting East Coast Migrant Head Start Project’s mission in 2019.  Our work would not be possible without your generous contributions.

East Coast Migrant Head Start Project wishes you and your loved ones a safe and happy holiday season!

Driving Children to Success

Christina Arnold has been a part of East Coast Migrant Head Start Project since May of 2017.  I recently had the opportunity to conduct a phone interview with her.  Keep reading to learn more about why she’s such a key team member for ECMHSP.

Can you please tell me a little bit about your story at East Coast Migrant Head   Start Project?

I had spent seven months as a substitute bus driver for the Hamilton County School District in Florida. One day during our regular morning meeting, we were told that East Coast Migrant Head Start Project was looking to hire bus drivers.  This information had been shared by ECMHSP’s Transportation Manager, Charles Leach.  The opening was for the ECMHSP Jennings Center, conveniently located seven miles away from my house.  At the time, I thought working there between May and October would be perfect, and then I would go back to the Hamilton County School District.  My hire date at ECMHSP was May 5, 2017.  Prior to officially starting, I got sent to two different areas of South Carolina to get training.  I had never traveled outside of Florida.  The mandatory training before becoming a bus driver for ECMHSP was 40 hours.  I also received three days of bus monitor training.  I was away from home for about a week and a half.  ECMHSP took great care of me during this time.

What did you enjoy the most about the training you received?

Although it’s a long process, the yearly training sharpens you.  I really liked that ECMHSP focused on safety being their number one priority.  The training showed that you need to step it up.

What happened after the season ended at the ECMHSP Jennings Center?

Once the season finished, I was offered to work at the ECMHSP Okeechobee Center I and II between November and May of 2018.  I already knew how everything worked and really enjoyed being here.  However, Okeechobee was more than five hours away from my home, so I had to talk to my kids before accepting.  As a child, my son, Richard Jr. learned to read using a Bass Pro magazine, and one of his dreams had always been to go fishing at Lake Okeechobee.  The possibility of being able to take my family fishing made us very excited.  After receiving my family’s support, I left for Okeechobee.  At the end of December 2017, I was able to make my son’s dream come true.  We caught over 40 fish during our trip!

Making the dream come true at Lake Okeechobee!

How did going to Okeechobee change you?

Traveling to Okeechobee gave me financial stability. I had the chance to save up money to pay bills that I had pending.  I’m glad I was able to help out other centers provide transportation services to the families.

Is it hard to leave your community behind in Jennings?

The hardest part is not being as involved with my own kids.  I drive back home one weekend a month.  While I’m away, my sister is a big help with Richard Jr., my 17-year-old son.  He’s a junior in high school and works part-time.  My daughter Chasity, 21, is currently doing basic training for the Army in Oklahoma.  She wants to pursue a career in the medical field, so she signed up to be a combat medic.  My daughter received special permission from the Army to go home for Christmas.  She’ll graduate from basic training in January.

Left to right: Chasity (21), Richard Jr. (17), and Christina.

What do you like the most about driving for ECMHSP?

I enjoy the interaction with the kids.  I enjoy seeing them happy every morning.  It’s just a joy in my heart to see the kids growing and learning in a safe environment.

What’s a typical day for you?

I usually start my pre-trip inspection around 4 a.m. There are more than 140 items that I have on my checklist. My first pick up is around 5:20 a.m., then I arrive at the center around 6:30 a.m.  After the kids are safely at the center, I finish the paperwork I must submit.  For example, the seating chart and attendance.  Then, the post-trip inspection begins, and we clean and sanitize the bus interior to get it ready for the afternoon.  Around 4:30 p.m., I complete another pre-trip inspection.  We start loading the bus around 5:20 p.m.

Christina Arnold always has a smile on her face.

Can you share a little bit about how you work with other staff on the bus to make sure children arrive safely at the center?

We’re constantly communicating to make sure the kids are being transported safely.  On the way to our Head Start center, the bus monitors entertain the children by singing with them.  When the last child is escorted off the bus, the bus monitors inspect the bus to make sure no child gets left behind.  They also report any incidents that occur while the children are on the bus.

Is there anything else you would like our ECMHSP community to know about          driving a school bus for us?

It means a lot.  It’s been a great experience, and I look forward to a long future here.

Christina gets ready for her pre-trip inspection.

Thank you for taking the time to let me interview you, Christina. You go above and beyond to make sure our children arrive safely at our centers in Florida.  Without you, we know many of our little ones would not have a safe way to reach our Head Start centers in Florida.  As you get ready to start your bus driver responsibilities at our ECMHSP Fort Pierce Center, we wish you a great season!

Advocating for Early Childhood Education at the National Level

Daniel Jaime’s childhood memories always take him back to the fields.  He was the youngest of five boys.  His mother was a single mother, who despite facing many obstacles as a migrant farmworker, always stressed the importance of getting an education.  Check out my recent phone interview with Daniel.

Could you tell me a little bit about your background?

I was born in Winter Haven, a city in Polk County, Florida.  I was part of a migrant farmworker family.  I recall spending seasons in North Carolina, Georgia, and Michigan.  At the age of 19, I started my own family.  I enrolled my firstborn in the Head Start Program offered through Redlands Christian Migrant Association (RCMA) in 2002.  My second and third child also attended RCMA.  As a migrant farmworker parent, I was very involved in my children’s education.  I was elected as the center’s President of the Parent Committee.  I also served on the Board of Directors for three full terms.  At the time, RCMA was a delegate agency of East Coast Migrant Head Start Project, and I participated as the Treasurer for its Policy Council.  In 2005, I stopped migrating for work.  RCMA offered me a position as an Outreach Worker in Polk County.  The following season, I became a Center Coordinator for RCMA’S before and after school programs, serving more than 140 children that season alone.  After four years of being at RCMA, I decided to continue my career at the ECMHSP La Familia Center as Center Director in October 2009.

I know you’re currently enrolled in college. Can you tell me more about the degree you’re pursuing?

In 2013, I graduated with my Associate in Science degree from Polk State’s Early Childhood Education and Management program.  Next year I will be getting my Bachelor’s in Business Management from Polk State College.  I want my kids to know how important education is.  I have five kids ranging in the ages of 18 and three.  Two of them will be graduating high school next year and are already looking into what college programs they want to pursue.

The ECMHSP La Familia Center opened for the season on Thursday, November 15.

What is the most exciting part of opening the center?

You must have a passion for children and their families.  My greatest thing is working with the ECMHSP La Familia Center staff and getting them ready to provide the best services for our children.  I enjoy seeing staff that start with a high school degree, then obtain a CDA, and work hard to get an Associate Degree.  Although every season includes different obstacles, I’m always hopeful that we’ll have a successful season.  All our staff from last season have returned, which is very exciting.

How do you maintain strong relationships with parents?

Always making our families feel welcomed at our center.  I want them to feel that it’s a good place to be.  I always take the time to present myself to our new families.  I tell them about the policies and procedures that we all follow.

What countries are primarily represented by your center’s farmworker families?

Most of our families are from Guatemala and Mexico.  Last season, we served 11 kids from Puerto Rico that were part of displaced families from Hurricane Maria.  Two kids are back this season.

The GFWC Four Corners Junior Woman’s Club visits our ECMHSP La Familia Center.

What are the center’s community partnerships?

We have community partnerships with Community of Faith, Catholic Charities of Winter Haven, Helping Hands Angels, The Veterans of Davenport, and the GFWC Four Corners Junior Woman’s Club.  During the last few years, the GFWC Four Corners Junior Woman’s Club has been making a holiday donation of more than 100 stockings for the children at my center.  I know our families look forward to their support next month.

Daniel Jaime, Center Director at the ECMHSP La Familia Center, recently attended the NACMH biannual meeting on November 14, 2018. 

Daniel Jaime is one of our most active staff members.  Not only does he support other centers with training as needed, but he also serves as a Council Member on the National Advisory Council on Migrant Health (NACMH), which has 16 members nationwide.  He was nominated to the NACMH when he was a Board of Director for the Central Florida Health Care.  Last week, I had the opportunity to meet Daniel in Bethesda, Maryland for NACMH’s biannual meeting.  The Council heard presentations from federal officials and experts on issues facing agricultural workers, including the status of agricultural worker health.  The NACMH will now make its recommendations to the HHS Secretary about the organization, operation, selection, and funding of migrant health centers and other entities funded under section 330(g) of the PHS Act.

A Head Start for the Cendejas Family

I recently had the opportunity to conduct a phone interview with Rosa Cendejas, one of our team members at the ECMHSP Fort Pierce Center in Florida.  Keep reading to learn more about her professional growth since joining East Coast Migrant Head Start Project in 1997.

Could you tell me more about your background?

I migrated from Mexico to the United States in February of 1986 and worked picking oranges in Fort Pierce, Florida for six years.  In 1997, I first heard of East Coast Migrant Head Start Project through a friend that was working at the Fort Pierce Center.  I started work with ECMHSP in February of that same year as a Substitute Teacher.  I learned that I would have to go back to school to meet the requirements of the position.  Shortly after, I started classes to get my GED.  This was a difficult experience since I didn’t know how to speak English.  One of the happiest days of my life took place in August of 2012.  I received my Associate’s in Science in Early Childhood Education.  It was a challenge both professionally and personally.  My busy schedule only allowed me to take one to two classes per semester, but thanks to the support of my family, I made it.  Being a professional, mother, full-time wife, and a student wasn’t easy, but the satisfaction was even greater once I achieved my goals.  I’m currently the Family Services Coordinator at the ECMHSP Fort Pierce Center.

Rosa’s graduation from Indian River State College makes the front page of her local newspaper!

What benefits have you received from ECMHSP?

What I appreciate the most is that they motivated me to continue getting an education.  ECMHSP is full of opportunities; it depends on us whether we want to take advantage of them or not.  Over the years, I had the opportunity to complete the Child Care Health Advocate Certificate in 2011 and the Family Services Credential in 2016.  ECMHSP has also had a positive impact on my family.

I heard that two of your three children attended the ECMHSP Fort Pierce Center.

Yes, my sons Armando and Alejandro both attended the ECMHSP Fort Pierce Center as young children.  In 2017, Armando was one of four former Head Start students selected to participate in an internship by the National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association in Washington, D.C.  He was placed with the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators for almost two months.  He even wrote a guest blog post about his experience.   Armando, 22, is currently attending Indian River State College in Fort Pierce, Florida.  I’m proud to say that he’s been working with me at the ECMHSP Fort Pierce Center as a Center Bus Caregiver since last year.  I know that Armando has a bright future ahead.

Armando Cendejas, a part of the NMSHSA Internship Class of 2017, shares his story at the closing celebration in Washington, D.C.

What is the most exciting part of opening the center for the season?

I like to see the closeness of our team while preparing to open the center. They are not work colleagues but are part of your family.  I like the feeling of serving our farmworker families.  Many families don’t know how to read or write, so I become their voice.

At your center, what kind of agricultural work do the farmworker families do?

Our families work primarily with oranges and grapefruits.  However, we also serve families that work at nurseries.

How do you maintain strong relationships with parents?

A lot of the new families feel uneasy at first.  I’m good at reading and understanding body language, so I try to make them feel at home from the first moment.

Rosa enjoys serving our farmworker families in Fort Pierce, Florida.

Have you recently worked at any other centers?

During July and August of this year, I was asked to work at the ECMHSP Jennings Center as a Family Services Worker.  This center is more than four hours away from my home in Fort Pierce, so I came back to visit my family every two weeks.  My husband is very supportive of my career.

Thank you so much for allowing me to interview you, Rosa.  Is there anything that you would like to add?

In the end, the sacrifices and everything I’ve done throughout my life has been worth it.  Seeing the happiness of my family, parents, and the Fort Pierce community is priceless.

Rosa Cendejas poses for a picture with some of the families she serves.

At ECMHSP, we look forward to sharing more success stories like Rosa’s.  Make sure to check back next week for new blog posts.

Going the Extra Mile in Florida West

Marimar Ramirez is the eldest of three children in a farmworker family.  Her parents have been working in the fields for more than 20 years, and Marimar began to follow in their footsteps until one day, while working in the fields, a coworker told her about East Migrant Head Start Project.  This conversation changed the direction of her life.  Keep reading to learn more about Marimar’s story from my phone interview with her.

Marimar and her daughter Natalia (7).

Tell me a little bit about your story at this center?

In 2016, I was out working in the fields.  I remember I was packing fruit when a coworker asked if I was interested in furthering my education.  At the time, my daughter was five years old.  I wanted to give her a better future, so I listened carefully.  My coworker told me about career openings at the ECMHSP Jennings Center (in Florida).  Shortly after, I personally went to get more information.  I learned that I would need to get accredited in order to teach in Florida.  May of 2016 was my first season as the Assistant Teacher at the ECMHSP Jennings Center.  After one season, I obtained a position as a Family Services Worker.  I successfully completed the Family Services Credential [through ECMHSP] in April of 2018 and became the Family Services Coordinator for the ECMHSP Jennings Center.

Marimar Ramirez, Family Services Coordinator and Migneris Ruiz, Health Disability Services Coordinator.

What do you enjoy most about each season?

The most exciting part is being able to build a bond with our families as well as sharing knowledge with them, so they can become leaders and advocate for their children.

Can you share a challenge that you’ve had to overcome while working at ECMHSP?

A challenge that I overcame was learning to travel without having self-condemnation.  I leave my seven-year-old daughter in care of my mother when I transfer to another ECMHSP center to provide services.  There have been months at a time when I’ve only been able to see my daughter during the weekends.  I’ve learned to be proud of myself when I’m far away from home, as I am providing for my family and supporting families in need.  I keep in mind that I work with families that face bigger challenges, such as traveling most of the year to make ends meet.

What other centers have you worked at?

I’ve worked at the ECMHSP Palm View Early Head Start Center and at the ECMHSP Palmetto Center.

What are the resources that you use to provide a high-quality education to the children at your center?

The resources that we use to provide a high-quality education to our children is by using the creative curriculum provided by ECMHSP, as well as having dual-language teachers in each classroom.  Also, the three assessments per season to follow the developmental milestones of each child enrolled in our center.  And most importantly, incorporating and encouraging parents to support their child’s growth.

How long do the different seasons last?

Our [Jennings Head Start] center typically operates from May to October.  However, the seasons vary depending on the weather.  The ECMHSP Jennings Center operates during the tornado/hurricane season.

What kind of agricultural work do the farmworker families perform at your center?

Our families during their stay here in the Jennings area work mainly in the tomato fields.  Once they travel up north or further down south, they will work with bell peppers, squash, and watermelon. Some of our parents also work at nurseries.

What are some of your center’s community partnerships?

The center’s community partnerships include: Hamilton County School District, North Central Early Steps, Sysco Jacksonville, Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, North Florida Pediatrics, and the Department of Community Dentistry.

Our preschoolers engaging in the art therapy program.

Are there any new partnerships you’re excited about?

I’m excited about a pilot program that was offered this past season by Florida State University (FSU).  Throughout the season, Theresa Van Lith, Assistant Professor of Art Therapy at FSU, came to our center’s preschool class for more than 10 sessions.  The initiative used art therapy for our 18 preschoolers to express their feelings through art of their own.  The children enjoyed every session. We hope to continue this program during our next season.

Emily proudly shows the certificate she received from Florida State University.

How do you maintain strong relationships with parents?

I maintain a strong relationship with parents by providing a welcoming environment and being understanding to their needs.  I’m humble and share my farmworker story with them.  I make sure they know they have a voice at our center.

The children enjoying circle time on the last day of the season!

Now that the season has ended at the ECMHSP Jennings Center, Marimar is waiting to see if her help will be needed at any of the other ECMHSP Florida Direct Services West locations.  She’s always willing to go the extra mile for all the farmworker families that are served at our centers.  Marimar, we know you have a bright future ahead.  Thank you for choosing to be a part of our family!

Idalia’s Journey: From Harvest to Head Start

When Idalia has flashbacks of her childhood, many of those memories take place in the fields.  Some seasons she lived in Ohio, Michigan, and Texas.  She is currently the Health Disabilities Services Coordinator at the ECMHSP Palmetto Center in Florida.  I recently had the opportunity to learn more about her and the work she does for East Coast Migrant Head Start Project.

Can you tell me a little bit about your background?

My parents are both from Mexico and have been farmworkers for more than 30 years.  I was born in Washington State.  Starting at the age of eight, I helped my parents with the harvest of cucumbers and tomatoes.  While helping my parents, I saw many friends of mine working with their parents as well.  My family spent six months out of the year in Texas, then migrated to Ohio or Michigan between April and September.  I got married at the age of 17 and continued to migrate for work with my husband.

Left to right: Idalia’s husband, Jorge Castillo, Elisa Castilla (12), Jorge Luis Castillo (19), and Idalia Castillo.

When did you realize that you no longer wanted to migrate for work?

When my son turned eight in 2007.  Having been part of a migrant farmworker family, I knew how hard it was to change schools every few months.  I wanted my son Jorge to have one school and one home.  I wanted him to have the stability that I didn’t have as a child, so I decided to stay in Florida to do seasonal work.

Jorge’s high school graduation.

How did you start your career with East Coast Migrant Head Start Project?

In 2010, I was living in Florida during the cucumber season.  I heard a new Head Start center in Myakka would open soon, so I went to ask about job openings.  My brother had attended a migrant Head Start center in Texas from birth until the age of five, so I was already familiar with Head Start’s mission. Shortly after, I got hired at the ECMHSP Myakka Center as an Assistant Cook.  I kept this position for two seasons, then became the center’s Health Disabilities Worker for about six years.  This is my first season as the Health Disabilities Services Coordinator at the ECMHSP Palmetto Center.

Field Day for the ECMHSP Palmetto Center during the 2017/2018 season.

What is the most exciting part of opening the center?

Being able to serve the children.  I know how hard their parents work from sun up to sun down.  They face many difficulties to find a safe place for them while they’re working.  The children here are well-fed and are given an early childhood education.

What countries are primarily represented by your center’s farmworker families?

Most of our families are from Mexico and Guatemala.  They speak Spanish and English, while many of them are bilingual.

What kind of agricultural work do the farmworker families at your center do?

We have families that pick tomatoes, harvest jalapeño and banana peppers.  Parents also work in a variety of nurseries.  In addition, the strawberry season starts next month.  Our ECMHSP Palmetto center is open year-round to serve more families.

What are the resources that you use to provide high-quality health services to the children at your center?

Our center’s Health Coordinator helps us keep the children up to date with immunizations and physicals.  If there is a special health need, she makes sure that the medication is available.  We partner with organizations to offer medical, mental, and dental services.  In addition, we have several types of assessments to evaluate children and diagnose disabilities.  If therapy is needed, parents have the option of receiving it at their homes or in our centers.

What do you hope to accomplish at your center this season?

We currently have 46 kids enrolled.  I want to serve as many children and families as possible and provide the best services we can give them.

How do you maintain strong relationships with parents?

I come from a family of migrant farmworkers.  My family used Head Start services, so our farmworker families identify with me.  Being able to speak Spanish helps build trust and encourages communication.  I tell parents that this program will prepare their kids to be successful in school.

Idalia Castillo and Dr. Villa, ECMHSP CEO.

We want to congratulate Idalia Castillo for her professional growth during the past eight years.  ECMHSP is proud to have such passionate individuals that go above and beyond every day at our centers.  Idalia’s parents still work in the fields today, which is why it’s so important for her to advocate for our farmworker families.

Maria’s Commitment to Forming Parent Leaders

Maria Rodriguez is from Reynosa, a border city in the northern part of Tamaulipas, Mexico.  She loves the work that she does as the Governance Assistant at East Coast Migrant Head Start Project in the Florida Direct Services – West Region Administrative Offices in Bartow, FL – and it shows!

But Maria hasn’t had an easy life.  Prior to working for ECMHSP, she was a migrant farmworker for nine years.  Between March and September, she harvested tomatoes, watermelon, pumpkins, and asparagus in Maryland.  The rest of the year, she lived in Texas, where she worked in the melon and onion fields.  A typical day in the fields would start at 6 a.m. and end at 7 p.m., leaving very little time for family.

Left to right: Rebecca (20), Laura (25), Angela (19), and Maria’s grandson.

As a single mother, one of Maria’s main concerns was having a safe childcare provider for her family.  She’s proud her three daughters received Head Start services.  She first heard of the Head Start program in 1996 when the Family Services Worker from the Sudlersville Head Start Center, a former ECMHSP Delegate Agency in Maryland, knocked on her door.  All the benefits that could be provided for her three-year-old daughter, Laura, were explained.  Maria received the news as a blessing.  Her baby would not only receive excellent care while she was at work, but health and family services would be provided as well.  Shortly after, Maria offered to volunteer at the center.  Center staff noticed how great she was at soothing the infants and hired her as a part-time assistant caregiver, a position that she held for three seasons.  This experience made Maria realize that she didn’t want to grow old working in the fields.

Shortly after, Maria’s second daughter was born and she once again enrolled her daughter in the Head Start program.  At the age of seven months, the Head Start center staff contacted her to explain that they suspected a learning disability.  Rebecca couldn’t sit on her own or grasp things.  After tests confirmed the disability, staff quickly coordinated for Rebecca to receive therapy.

As a Head Start parent, Maria continued to be fully involved as a volunteer at the center and later as an elected parent leader for the center, her region and the ECMHSP Policy Council.  As president of the Policy Council in 2004, she ensured the parents’ voices were an active part of the organization’s decision-making process and learned the important role parents play in the success of their children’s future.  Maria holds ECMHSP responsible for her family’s success.  “If I hadn’t left the fields, my daughters would’ve probably continued to do the same line of work. East Coast [Migrant Head Start Project] made me realize that education is the most powerful tool that you can leave your kids,” says Maria.

Laura’s college graduation.

Angela’s 2017 high school graduation picture.

Today, Laura, 25, has a college degree in human resources, while Angela, 19, is finishing her first year of community college.  “At East Coast, they teach you the importance of an education, starting with the parents, whom are a child’s first teacher. Obtaining my GED in 2012 was one of the happiest days of my life. I had never thought about going back to school [before working at ECMHSP],” says Maria.

In February, it will be Maria’s eighth anniversary with East Coast Migrant Head Start Project.  Along with her colleague in the Governance Department, Maria Hernandez, she recently coordinated ECMHSP’s Fall Policy Council Orientation and Meeting in Philadelphia, PA.  When we asked Maria why she believes in ECMHSP’s mission, she said, “I enjoy encouraging parents to take a more active role in their kids’ education.  Each year, we see parents who don’t think they can hold these important positions on our Policy Council, but then become amazing leaders and advocate for migrant farmworker families everywhere.”

Twenty Years of Partnership: Ramona De Loera and East Coast

Ramona De Loera never had an easy life.  She is one of ten children and from the age of eight, her parents brought her to the fields where she helped with the work however she could. As she grew older, balancing her school work with farm work became more and more difficult.  Ramona failed the ninth grade because her parents pulled her from school for weeks at a time to help the family in the fields.  By the time she reached senior year of high school, she knew she wouldn’t be able to continue migrant farm work if she wanted to graduate.  When it was time for her family to migrate upstream, she stayed in Florida and worked three part-time jobs to keep contributing to her family.  Although there were many obstacles, she graduated with the help of wonderful mentors at her high school.

Ramona is very involved in her children’s education. She regularly visits our Migrant Head Start Center in Wauchula, Florida.

Ramona became a mother twenty years ago, in 1998, when her daughter, Esmeralda, was born.  At the time, Ramona was a farmworker and it was impossible to find a reliable and affordable care for Esmeralda. Ramona’s life changed for the better when she learned of East Coast Migrant Head Start Project’s Migrant Head Start Center in Chandler Mountain, Alabama. There, Esmeralda would receive wonderful care from Head Start teachers and would get a head start in life by becoming a dual language learner.

Ramona attends an event at our Migrant Head Start Center in Wauchula, Florida. She had the chance to dress up as one of Mexico’s beloved TV personalities, la Chilindrina.

A life of farm work can take a tremendous toll on the body. In 2006, Ramona was picking oranges in Florida when she started experiencing intense pain from transporting sixty pounds of oranges down a 20-foot-tall ladder.  Weeks later, Ramona would have her hernia surgically repaired and would no longer be able to perform this type of farm work.  She’s still working hard in the fields.  However, she’s now responsible for the irrigation and weeding of orange trees in Florida, which doesn’t put her at danger of getting another hernia.

Ramona was present at the National Migrant & Seasonal Head Start Association’s 2018 Public Policy Forum.

Ramona is the mother to seven girls ranging in age from one year to twenty years. Two of her girls will be enrolled in our Migrant Head Start Center in Wauchula, Florida this upcoming season.  Ramona proudly serves on our Policy Council as Vice President and on the Board of Directors of the National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association.  When we asked about her 20-year experience as an ECMHSP parent, she said, “To me, East Coast doesn’t feel like someone who is providing services to my family. Instead, I consider them a friend who is constantly giving me a hand. I’ve been blessed to be part of this organization.”  We consider ourselves the lucky ones to have such a great leader among our parents.  Thanks for your trust these past two decades, Ramona!