For the past 17 years, Bernabe and his family have migrated from their home in the Rio Grande Valley to Wilder, Idaho, where they have worked in sugar beet, corn, bean and alfalfa fields. This year, Bernabe left Idaho early, returning alone to McAllen, where he lived on his own from August through December in order to take honor courses at Memorial High School. Typically, Texas children of migrant farm workers are at a disadvantage in the classroom because they miss so much school. They are uprooted from their Texas homes and schools during early spring to be with their families migrating to northern states to work in the fields. They often do not return to Texas until the late fall, long after their schoolmates have started class.
Some migrant students are able to attend temporary schools in the northern states.
To help them catch up with their Texas classmates when they return home, the distance learning program offers these students course study guides and textbooks in print and computer-based formats. The newest method of getting these materials is an Internet on-line course now being developed with funding by Microsoft. These courses can help the students get high school credit. Migrant students from the Alvin, Booker, Brownsville, Carrizo Springs, Corpus Christi, Denton, Donna, Goose Creek, La Joya, McAllen, Santa Rosa, South San Antonio and Uvalde school districts were honored as exemplary students during the luncheon.