Migrant Education - Online!

With schools closed and classes, workplaces, and more moving to virtual platforms, the Maine Migrant Education program has also been adapting to the new reality and the changing needs of families and students. After collecting feedback from several parents in the MEP, Mano en Mano has hired 9 tutors to accommodate the increased need for educational support during these times.

These new tutors have begun to work virtually with over 40 students both in the MEP and outside of it. However, most of the tutors are not new to Mano en Mano or our values ; many had previously worked at the Blueberry Harvest School, and almost all tutors are certified teachers and are bilingual. Besides providing academic support, this program is also meant to offer social-emotional support and a chance for students to make a connection outside of the home. Tutors are also dedicated to meeting students where they are at, and are working to make tutoring accessible through different platforms to meet students' needs.

In addition to organizing the tutoring program, Rose and Juana, the regional coordinator and director for the MEP, respectively, have also been working to create and share more digital educational resources with families. As a supplement to the tutoring program, we have also made an account with tutor.com to provide on-demand tutoring for any student connected to Mano en Mano. Tutor.com offers Spanish language tutoring in a number of subjects.

Furthermore, one new project that Rose and Juana have started since the pandemic began is a series of Spanish storytime videos. After noticing a lot of organizations putting up stories in English, Rose and Juana wanted to make similar videos available to our students in Spanish. In these videos, Juana and Rose read some of their favorite children's books and share reading guides and other projects that students can utilize to interact more meaningfully with the reading material. Students have shared that it is comforting to hear a familiar story read by a familiar voice. These videos are available on Youtube and our Facebook page. Here are a few of our favorites!