EdSource Today, News Report, Susan Frey, Posted: Nov 07, 2013
School on Saturday? Most students would protest such an intrusion on their free time, but for children of migrant workers, Saturday school is a family affair.
Combined with after-school and summer programs, Saturday courses are a required part of the federally funded Migrant Education Program, which gives some of the country’s most at-risk students a chance to keep pace with their peers.
Migrant education programs are for children whose parents are in jobs that require them to move frequently, such as in the agriculture industry. Children may attend several different schools each year as families move from region to region, following the seasonal planting of crops.
To ensure that children don’t fall behind, the program offers a range of services such as academic classes, bilingual and multicultural instruction, vocational education and even some health care.
Saturday programs have been seen as a way to supplement traditional academic years and boost student achievement, yet formal use of Saturdays as part of the school calendar, along the lines of the migrant program, is a rarity in California.
Read more at New America Media
