After preschool, kids graduate from Head Start and are eligible for Region 11 services. It's a challenge to bring the kids up to speed, says Pajaro Valley Unified Superintendent Dr. John Casey. Sometimes they go to school in another state and attend school in a different district, sometimes they move to Mexico and go to school or do not go to school. Anyway you look at it, there are gaps in their school attendance and that's problematic. Students are eligible for migrant services if their parents work in agriculture or the fishing industry and if they have moved within the last three years.
Eligibility lasts three years from the family's last move.
Qualified families receive financial assistance to pay for students' visits to the dentist and doctor. They can also attend summer school to get a head start on classes they will miss during the winter and take independent study courses to make up for credits missed because of migrancy. Monthly parent education meetings promote family reading time and provide parents with a place to discuss their children's academic experience, community resources and drug and gang prevention. The earlier we get them thinking about college, the better. Born in Long Beach, Becerra migrated with her parents and two younger brothers every year, traveling between Mexico, Southern California and Watsonville, working in agriculture and following the crops.