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But you know there is no police here at all. Water by. The gun goes out of those on board. This is the Garden State New Jersey. Farming and fishing. Every year thousands of migrant workers pass through here helping make our state prosper. The workers bring families. From as near as a neighboring town to your state forest or even Mexico. Eh

I. Bring children speaking English Spanish and sometimes children. For their families. For. Some their parents others have no choice. Teachers and lawyers. Can do. It. They belong to everyone. And to no one but teachers. There for. The future. Well right. Hello I'm Pamela Gardner. To farmers they mean cheap labor.

Two union organizers they mean future members to their parents they mean more mouths to feed into their teachers. They mean more work. Who are they. These children of the harvest. And what's being done nationally to help some one million school age migrant children. Many of whom are still picking the fruits and vegetables that you and I eat every day. Specifically what are educators doing to help those children attending school to replace their Harvest Of Shame With the benefits of the harvest of hope. Let's take a closer look. I can remember a time way back when my family used to work on the farm when we used to work in the farm. Picking tomatoes cucumbers whatever the cop was at the time. Even at that early age I could remember that I always wanted to be a teacher but I always wanted to pursue a career in education at the time I also thought of going to school.

My brothers and sisters I saw them having a difficult time because of the language because of the problems of school discrimination and so on. They were not able to make it I was able to stay and continue in spite of all the obstacles that I encounter. I was able to get my bachelor's degree my master's I am presently working on my doctoral degree here at Rutgers University. Education was always very important to me. I saw education as a way out of. The present situation that I was involved in. I did not want to remain in my brain child for the rest of my life. I also felt that education was not only the way for me but it was also the only way that a lot of our children could also progress in this society with us. We was just part of Josias a secretary could say that.

Get anything when all of that said a little bit in the hole it took you know the look of you and he took from you my little minimal makeup off. He does some of us Why don't you just get out there with that one on the list some which will and this but going to pull that out of Ian. Second when the president of the US what I think he's saying which is that the NSL going to some ice is going to play then I hear that gotten a pin in doing this. See them go by just less meeting with this gig discusses their you that when. It get there goes best to the end. When the low status of the other about a chemical Sevendust legis. A New Jersey fishing industry concentrated in South Jersey escape me area extends

along the one hundred twenty seven mile run to first line. And it not only lending the street residents when on the fishing industry here in Cape May County brings station out of the ocean packages distributes primarily on the East Coast some on the West Coast. But now we also are distributing to foreign countries. We go out we try to catch fish try to bring them in try to get a decent price for them and and in turn go back out try to catch some more so just farming in the sea. All right history is similar to the farmers you'll find a lot of boats. Will Follow the fish hundreds of boats that have to chase the fish up and down the coast at different time periods for instance. Winter time a lot of fish have to go south towards. A lot of boats have to go south because the fish go south and they're working off the Carolinas as the weather warms up the fish migrate

up to the east as we say up off of Massachusetts. And the bus therefore chased them up there. If you're not where the fish are you're not going to catch anything. You don't catch anything you're not going to make a living. So as the saying goes you have to go where the fish go. Kate may is the second largest. As far as dollar value and pound they just go sour in Boston Bloss area is a farce became a county is the second largest area along the East Coast. It probably represents the fifty and a hundred million dollars that goes into the pockets of the local people either directly or indirectly. Hired farm workers in the United States are among the lowest of all occupational groups which averaged over $14000 in 1979 due

primarily to a limited education opportunity. Farm workers work more days earning more money than whites and blacks almost one third of all migrants travel 500 miles or more from their place of residence to do farm work. Sixty seven percent of Hispanics only 16 percent of whites travel 500 more miles. Hard line between March and October speaks of an influx of migrant families. Never.

Give up the planet but it is what I think you ought I mean it'll get play that the pathetic working one owns it really like looking at you know the boats they would. All kiss all the way like they are going to one of Boulder with a thought. The one thought that ultimately in the building which is whether the like o when a little but don't like people are going to get bleeding at the moment but that up but look I don't want to belittle. It is estimated that 12 out of every 100 migrant students graduate from

high school with a higher dropout rate among blacks and Hispanics. Nearly one quarter of all farm workers fall between the ages of 14 and 17 this need to work to family income is a factor contributing to dropping out and sporadic school attendance. What does modern education. What does it really mean. Education isn't just the term that we're going to say I feel sorry for the youngsters. What it means is that we have a very mobile society in this country and we have zero right now. But why that is because as you move from place to place your educational program the program is intended to serve migrant children felt throughout the country we're talking to one of the city one hundred twenty five thousand children and there are different classifications of migrant children. We have we call interstate intrastate migrant children we have shown that dropped out of the migrant stream agricultural migrant children that we serve. Fisher fisherman's children the thought of my own

education program we stress free programs mainly early childhood programs for 3 and 4 yo children. Language tutorial program for our children 5 to 17 years old man a learning program for migrant children are thrust is a program for the children especially during the regular term program. And then we have a concept that we've initiated recently what we call a linker concept where we use highly skilled and trained person to bridge the gap or to service as on between the school community and agencies to highlight what we call the ethnic component bring the course your child through instruction our programs we are very concerned with the basic skills and we find differing ways and approaches in which the child

force his skills. But aren't we. Opportunities for my wishes to achieve in Virginia on the eastern shore. As I say that we have a formal curriculum and then we have the supportive services of course to go along with that. And in the tutorial program we offer basically a one to one. We have quite a few state resource and material center which we operate in our state. It has been successful in dealing with teachers who work with migrant children and we also have a fairly extensive interstate career awareness program that involves three additional southeastern states within the United States. We asked Mr. Graham if the money that's appropriated by Congress for the whole of the Elementary and Secondary Education Program under Title 1. The migrant portion is a special categorical program because of the needs

of the youngsters and because of the mobility of the youngsters. But when the youngster then moves to another state say Pennsylvania New Jersey or or California or what have you that state that is responsible for identifying the youngster putting him into the computer system thereby cutting off the sending state and then the receiving state at the end of the year of a calendar year. Then what we do is that we count up the full time equivalent days residence in any one of those states against the money. And then it's divided up amongst the states so that truly the money is in the past and kind of the last group of youngsters who have not really been dealt with in the educational programs throughout the country to look at these children and to try to meet their needs. Many of the children in our school for two months three months and then they move on to another school another or even another hall area in the state of New Jersey. This creates a lot of gaps in their education has really

tried to place personnel in or working with schools to zero in and to identify the needs and to try to address that aspect. Work on personal development of the migrants to develop a selfless career aspect to the secondary school level of caring to get out and be a part of part of the job market and very competitive. I think that with the coordination of the approach of my village case and with other programs keeping the integrity the individuality of the program that eventually we will be able to comprehensively. All of the students.

The services in New Jersey as coordinator I test the child to find out what their educational needs are. I work with the school nurse to make sure they had their shots and that their records are up to date. We work again with the Home School is on who helps to make sure they get to the doctor should they need shots and work with the classroom teachers in particular to identify a program to help meet their needs. When a child comes to me I enroll them and within a few weeks I receive a complete computerized record of their health record of their patent problems in the past if they need glasses. If the products they were identified as having special needs at their educational testing has been in the district they were at before and any other additional information that the school district thinks is important. For example this year we did have an epileptic child move into our district that was very important that we know that immediately and when we received our records it was a great help of course to the school nurse and other personnel to know how to deal with that. When a child leaves my district then I also fill out

information and the tests that I have administered any inoculations that they have had to be updated on this form and then I make sure they get sent to the computer base which will forward it. Once they receive from the next school district that the child has arrived at their. Home school is on. Hold. I mean when I recruit and run into our program and provide educational services. One of my proudest achievements as far as what he's been doing. With the migrant people and with the migrants. And there are many other students who come through the program who have gained a great deal in the field I've learned a lot that will help them to be better for humanity. Hopefully some of the children. Yes yes. I could. Probably take them to the school. We had a girl

that. She got from it for her and we ended up taking it to the hospital. The greatest. Need. I think it's easier. To. Prepare a child. To interest to broaden his knowledge.

As a young child than it is to correct a deficiency. Unfortunately Congress has not. Funded. Education. I think that the program has been very successful. I think we have increased the number of child spends in a classroom setting. Cried. 75. It was to. Ascertain that like him like a child only spends about. 90 days out of a hundred a day school year. In a classroom like. Today that. That amount of time has increased tremendously. It has provided them with an awareness and a feeling of being wrong. The school was here. These children are identified and there's a handout there saying hi

welcome here we're going to help you and whatever way we can. Most of the people talk about forming they think about the children who are coming along through the virgin years and Marilyn's And you know picking the crops as they go along. Well our children follow a crop too it's a secret the mobility of many people in the United States. Is one of economics people who have the wherewithal to move a skilled worker who is going from place to place like if you work for DuPont you have mobility we know that if you're working for General Electric you have mobility. You have this type of mobility but it's a preferred economic level. They have a job waiting for them. So I think you cannot compare the migrants mobility the that one level mobility has gone because it's of economic benefit to migrant mobility is just sheer survival. There's no work left here and if you want to eat you better move. What is the national body doing in my own education program. We have about 35 percent of our football players who come from my background themselves.

So we started a program and participating. We have 12 players who are actively working through the program. The national charities are very much interested in seeking what exactly. Players working as we do is take away our sessions and spend a 45 minute basis in a counseling type program. We bring some people to give the players back. Lifestyle education first

have a better understanding of what the entire education program to the program. Are we having trouble recruiting kids. We can only work with about 10 to 15 and they're all very enthusiastic about working with players. Even the recent round of national budget cuts appear to be threatening the program's very existence. It's about what happens to education and disregard what's happening to

that impact. I think that with the budget cuts. That. We have to be concerned with more than just what's cut from my good education we have people with what's called across the board. Because as we try to correlate our categorical programs here. We fully understand that even though we make or the programs provide the services that. A particular social service agency that provides food stamps to a migrant family might affect that family to the extent that the children will not come to school with the proper nutrition and so on. That will impact on the kind of support of services that we provide in addition to the educational services so we have to be

concerned with what happens to the family and all the resources that the family has available. I guarantee you the educational program is a guarantee that we are to give our children in this country. But that guarantee in terms of mobility is dependent on the economic level of the family and if you say oh yes you are the biggest come on and we're going to have a prayer meeting or are you when you pull them out of the fields and working they work piece work piece work they lose money by the hour. Think about this way. What if all of us we're paid piecework think about that for every member we wrote for every memo we wrote every meeting we went through going to current staff and at the end of the week we handed in and somebody would give us up in two weeks then we get our money. How would you like to operate that way. See it's easy to sit back and say well I'm sick today and I'm going to think about these work when people say it's terrible that those kids are rotten fieldwork. It is terrible.

Sure but if we were paying work you know there are these four kids and his wife and everybody else be sitting up there Xeroxing your leaving a stamp to get it going to meetings left and right hand model car clubs. The Department of Education. Not hard. What for. For survival. And that's when we began production on this show over a year ago. Since then a change of national leadership. Threatens to slam shut the doors of migrant education doors which have opened opportunities for over a million migrant children. The future of migrant education is uncertain. But what is certain is that the successes reaped from the harvest of hope may indeed return to the Harvest of Shame.