In the Southeast region of New York State, the Mid-Hudson Migrant Education Tutorial and Support Services (METS) Program Center responded to the emerging needs related to COVID-19 beginning in April 2020 by organizing and facilitating five Parent Town Hall Events. A planning committee was developed, engaging multiple outside agencies, and the group met weekly to design agendas for the weekend evening parent events, ensuring that the appropriate presenters were available to discuss urgent issues. Agencies included Rural Migrant Ministries (RMM), Hudson River Health Care, Worker Justice Center of NY, Sullivan County Public Health and the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department, and the Fallsburg and Liberty School Districts. Migrant parents received information and support on a variety of topics including:
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) access and work site safety protocols
- Emergency food access and Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT), including the coordination of volunteers to ensure the distribution of food
- COVID testing sites
- Protocols explaining the difference between isolation and quarantine
- School transitions from in-person to remote instruction, including summer school opportunities
- COVID medical questions answered by doctors and health clinic representatives
- Census
- Sick pay and renters’ rights
As a result of this ongoing collaboration, the Department of Health committed to distributing information in Spanish to families and worked with employers to follow safety protocols. Migrant Educators supported families in registering for COVID tests and reached out to health providers who were bilingual to help at drive-thru testing sites.
In addition to the parent meetings and collaboration with community partners, more than 13 Migrant Educators at the Mid-Hudson METS also continued their instructional support to migrant students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff worked with families to ensure that students had Chromebooks and internet connectivity to engage in virtual instruction. They also used Learning A-Z and the Raz-Plus program to effectively engage them in literacy work. In March 2020, when schools were closed for in-person instruction, the Mid-Hudson METS surveyed students and families, and then they distributed books and materials to use at home. Through the NYS-MEP statewide subscription, students can sign in and set up Raz-Plus accounts to access books on their own. Migrant Educators find that the audio books are especially effective at engaging students. Ana Cobos Dygert, from the Mid-Hudson METS shared:
"I really like the Focused Instruction activities in Raz-Plus, and I have been using them with several students. It's very easy to use. After clicking on Focused Instruction, I select Comprehension. Then I choose the grade. Next, I select the specific comprehension topic I want to work on, for example, CHARACTER ANALYSIS or MAIN IDEA AND DETAILS. The site provides a lesson plan to follow first to introduce the topic to the student. Then you get to choose among four different short passages to read. An activity focused on the comprehension topic chosen follows, and then there is an interactive activity. I recommend this feature in Raz-Plus to all my fellow tutors."
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