Regional Spotlight! Northeast METS Technology Implementation

The North Country METS has been building a toolbox of technology resources and broadening the skill sets of all staff for many years, culminating in several 2019-20 program highlights:

• Data Collection, Paperwork, and Accountability:  The North Country METS has internally centralized anything that could be, with a goal of going digital. The staff has transitioned to make every form digitized, no longer collecting paper submissions. As a result, the time consuming and labor-intensive data collection process has shifted to a digital form for the summary of services.
• Virtual/Remote Instruction and Professional Development:  Migrant Educators engaged students in instructional tutoring sessions over the Zoom video conferencing platform. Additionally, Migrant Educators supported students virtually as they engaged in learning in their school’s Google Classrooms. Migrant Educators continued to leverage technology by creating their own Google Slides and Google Classrooms, and created professional learning opportunities for all the METS staff.
• Communication:  The North Country METS staff transitioned to communicating via the Slack platform. Various channels were created to collectively engage staff in discussion, sharing, information exchanges, and collaboration. Use of Slack has helped combat isolation and improve the morale of staff members, as well as serve as an asynchronous way of continuing discussions and learning. Slack also interfaces with Google and allows for additional ways for sharing individual and group work

There is one more other thing we have to highlight about the Northeast METS programming last year! They recognized the accomplishments of 8th and 12th graders as they transitioned to high school and college in the 2019-20 school year. Staff created individualized donation baskets to celebrate student successes. In response to COVID, every student also received a book that was individually requested for summer reading. Students were deeply appreciative of the individualized learning materials and engaged in literature with virtual instruction sessions. 

Keep up the great work, Northeast METS!