#FarmworkerFamilies

ECMHSP Website

Nov 3, 2021
4 min

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 m

ECMHSP Website

Nov 3, 2021
3 min

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 Coas

ECMHSP Website

Nov 3, 2021
4 min

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 lit

Maria’s Commitment to Forming Parent Leaders

ECMHSP Website

Nov 3, 2021
3 min

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, an

Twenty Years of Partnership: Ramona De Loera and East Coast

ECMHSP Website

Nov 3, 2021
2 min

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

Promoting Parent Engagement at East Coast

ECMHSP Website

Nov 3, 2021
2 min

Promoting Parent Engagement at East Coast

One such dedicated parent is Gloria Castillo, who has been an ECMHSP parent for five seasons. She was born in Queretaro, Mexico, and has lived in the United States since 2005. Gloria has almost 10 years of experience working in the fields. She’s proud to say that three of her four kids have had the opportunity to attend the ECMHSP Faison Center in North Carolina. Gloria visits the ECMHSP Faison Center and meets Dr. Bergeron, Director of the Office of Head Start. When we as

ECMHSP Website

Nov 3, 2021
2 min

A Head Start in a Field of Dreams

The Adams County MSHS Center Field of Dreams is located near the heart of South Central Pennsylvania’s “Fertile Crescent” growth area. The center is operated by PathStone, an ECMHSP Delegate Agency contracted to provide migrant and seasonal Head Start services in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The countryside encompasses some of the East Coast’s most productive agricultural areas. Our farmworker families work with apples, pears, grapes, stone fruits, picking and packing flow

Planning for Head Start Success Through Shared Governance

ECMHSP Website

Nov 3, 2021
3 min

Planning for Head Start Success Through Shared Governance

Effective governance is an essential part of any successful Head Start program. East Coast Migrant Head Start Project is proud of the strong partnership we have with our Board of Directors and Policy Council! Their great leadership and unwavering dedication to the mission allows us to provide comprehensive, high-quality early childhood education and Head Start services to farmworker families. Each year, the ECMHSP Board of Directors and Policy Council meet to fulfill their

ECMHSP Website

Nov 3, 2021
1 min

A Safe Haven for Farmworker Families

The ECMHSP Hendersonville Head Start Center opened on Monday, June 25. Mayra Lozano, Family Services Coordinator, was one of the most eager staff members receiving our farmworker families on the first day of the season. About 20 children showed up ready to learn. An ECMHSP parent is excited to pick up her children. The ECMHSP Hendersonville Center is unique because it’s located in Western North Carolina. The county is known as the Apple County because it’s surrounded by ap

The Eastern Shore of Virginia Gets a Head Start

ECMHSP Website

Nov 3, 2021
2 min

The Eastern Shore of Virginia Gets a Head Start

Currently, Jose Enriquez is the Family Services Coordinator at the ECMHSP Parksley Center. The ECMHSP Parksley Head Start Center is special because it’s ECMHSP’s only center that serves two states, which are Virginia and Maryland. Work done by our farmworker families in the Eastern Shore include: the production and harvesting of tree crops, field crops, nursery crops, eggs, poultry, fish, seafood, and the care of farm animals. Jose was born in Veracruz, Mexico. At the age

East Coast Makes a Strong Impression in Washington, D.C.

ECMHSP Website

Nov 3, 2021
4 min

East Coast Makes a Strong Impression in Washington, D.C.

Attendees had the privilege of welcoming the newly-appointed Director of the Office of Head Start, Dr. Deborah Bergeron. A former classroom teacher and elementary and high school administrator, Dr. B –as she likes to be called— shared how she will use her three decades of pre-K–12 public education experience to provide unique insights into how Head Start can support our most vulnerable children to become school ready. She also talked about her recent visit to ECMHSP’s Nort

Guest Post: Growing Up with a Migrant Mother

ECMHSP Website

Nov 3, 2021
3 min

Guest Post: Growing Up with a Migrant Mother

Photo Credit: La Voz I recently attended the funeral of our Godmother Lala Esquibel. Her passing was more than an interruption of the life our families. The closer you got to her two sons in their moment of sorrow, the more devastating was her departure. They say that funerals are a way of coping for those left behind and this certainly was a great example of that purpose. I lost my mother in 2002 after a relatively long illness. Knowing she would be gone soon, she attended o

ECMHSP Website

Nov 3, 2021
2 min

Building Trust in Loxley

The ECMHSP Loxley Center in Loxley, Alabama, welcomed more than 40 children on Monday, May 7. The families we serve work with a variety of crops, such as: sweet potatoes, potatoes, strawberries, corn, green beans, and peppers. Dignora Bonilla is confident that in the upcoming weeks, more than 100 children will fill the center with joy and laughter, especially since a third person has been recently added to her team to help with recruitment. Dignora came to U.S. from the Dom

Two Decades of Serving North Carolina Farmworker Families

ECMHSP Website

Nov 3, 2021
2 min

Two Decades of Serving North Carolina Farmworker Families

Celia Rodriguez was born in Mexico and came to the U.S. when she was two years of age. Her parents were farmworkers for more than 30 years, so she knows firsthand how much migrant farmworker families struggle. Celia recalls being a migrant farmworker child between the ages of 10 and 14 years. The hardest thing about being a migrant farmworker child was adjusting to a new school and making friends. Celia couldn’t make close friendships because she moved every three months.

ECMHSP Shares Best Practices for Services at MAFO Conference

ECMHSP Website

Nov 3, 2021
2 min

ECMHSP Shares Best Practices for Services at MAFO Conference

MAFO held its annual National Farmworker Conference and Convention this week in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The MAFO Conference is an opportunity for advocates and service providers for the farmworker community to come together to discuss current issues affecting America’s farmworkers and to share innovative tools and best practices. The theme of this year’s conference was Building Stronger Rural Communities and ECMHSP’s strong presence made significant contributions in suppor

ECMHSP Website

Nov 3, 2021
3 min

Celebrating a Bright Future in Palmetto

Our ribbon-cutting ceremony was led by Dr. Villa, CEO, and Layssa Marie Garcia, President of the Palmetto Parent Committee. Photo credit: Ted Hoffman Surrounded by parents, children, and community partners, East Coast Migrant Head Start Project celebrated its newest child care center for farmworker families on March 15th in Palmetto, Florida, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The ribbon-cut at Palmetto was the culmination of many years of hard work; but the smiles of the farmwo

ECMHSP Returns to California for NMSHSA Conference ‘18

ECMHSP Website

Nov 3, 2021
2 min

ECMHSP Returns to California for NMSHSA Conference ‘18

John Menditto, ECMHSP General Counsel, thanks the parents that attended the conference during a plenary session. The National Migrant & Seasonal Head Start Association (NMSHSA) held its Annual National Conference in Costa Mesa, CA, from March 2 through March 6. A number of our dedicated employees travelled to the conference to make presentations on best practices we have implemented. Sofia Baucom and Consuellis Hawkins-Crudup, for example, presented a session titled, Planning

Story of ECMHSP Dreamer Shared on Capitol Hill

ECMHSP Website

Nov 3, 2021
3 min

Story of ECMHSP Dreamer Shared on Capitol Hill

Leaders from the faith, business and advocacy communities read Dreamer testimonials on Capitol Hill. Photo credit: FWD.us East Coast Migrant Head Start Project is committed to preparing the children of migrant and seasonal farm workers for success. The farmworker families we serve entrust their children to ECMHSP centers while they toil in the fields every day to feed America. But many of these same families live with the fear of separation, afraid that today will be the last

ECMHSP Website

Nov 3, 2021
1 min

Tis the Season of Hope & Giving

Today, we are thrilled to kick-off our end of year, annual Friends & Family Giving Campaign. East Coast Migrant Head Start Project is committed to preparing the children of migrant and seasonal farm workers for success. Our Giving 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 websit

ECMHSP Presents at 2017 NAEYC Annual Conference

ECMHSP Website

Nov 3, 2021
2 min

ECMHSP Presents at 2017 NAEYC Annual Conference

Clara Cappiello y Emily Diaz On November 17, Emily Diaz, a preschool teacher with the ECMHSP Loxley Migrant Head Start Center in Alabama, and Clara Cappiello, Training and Development Manager at ECMHSP, were prepared and excited to present at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) annual conference, which took place at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. They were a part of, “Grandes Comienzos,” a special track for the Spanish speaking

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