Edinburg CISD begins migrant recruitment efforts for students

EDINBURG — The school district here kicked off its weeklong Migrant Neighborhood Identification and Recruitment Program efforts on Monday, a program designed to identify students returning to the district after working in the agriculture industry.

Migrant Education Program Coordinator Patricio Escamilla, who has been with the program since 2008, met with his team early Monday morning at Crawford Elementary to break down their recruitment efforts.

Counselors and those participating in the recruitment will be going door to door to find families that may qualify for aid and assistance for their children. The program is vital to students who work outside of the district to identify and introduce them to resources.

Escamilla said growth in Edinburg has been more toward the northeast and northwest of the district and that is where recruitment efforts are concentrated.

“We can get a minimum of 40 to 50 (migrant students) to more than 90 or 100-some kids,” he said.

Escamilla added that an important factor to recruitment is getting people to spread the message.

“They go out there and canvas the streets and go house to house and by word of mouth … they might know some relative or family member or neighbor,” he said.

A challenge that Escamilla’s team has faced is that many migrant families are undocumented.

“We’re not law enforcement. We’re here to provide a service that the district provides and get the families to feel comfortable to be able to share that information,” he said. “That’s why it’s imperative when we go out there and canvas the streets. We wear the proper attire, the school district logo shirts, or the campus logo shirts … and then have the information readily available so they understand what the program is about.”

If undocumented families feel intimidated, Escamilla said they can call the program’s number, or reach out to him, at (956) 289-2300 extension 2103.

Margarita Pina, a parent of two Edinburg CISD migrant students and a former migrant worker herself, said this is the first year that they don’t travel for work and that the program has helped her children succeed.

Migrating almost every year since she was 12, Pina said she knows first hand the hardships that come with being a migrant student.

“One of the things that really hit me is that I never took my school pictures,” she said. “It’s important especially for my oldest one, he’s a high schooler. I remember everything I miss because of us traveling and everything. So, I don’t want my kids to go through that.”

Pina’s oldest son is currently taking early college classes and is in the top 10% of his class, and she said she thanks the support that came from the migrant program.

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“I actually know people that are migrants and they’re not involved with these kinds of programs, and it’s something that they should go to the school and ask for,” Pina said. “Ask, don’t be afraid. Just go to the counselors, to the office and ask.

“In every school, there’s always a migrant counselor that’s gonna guide you through and answer all your questions … (The programs) are going to help your kids achieve, like in my case. I want my son to achieve all his dreams, and I can live my dream through him.”

The recruitment is not limited to a few weeks and is open all year long, Escamillia said.

“I don’t want anybody to think, ‘I missed the opportunity to possibly be identified,’” he said. “No, It’s just a matter of contacting our office, and we’ll follow through and ask the specific questions and perhaps get them qualified for our program.”