It may be summer, but students are filling the halls of schools in two central Berrien County school districts.As they do every year, migrant farm worker children are spending time in classrooms in the Berrien Springs and Eau Claire school districts.
"We're trying to keep kids on grade level but also make it as interactive and fun as we can," said Tim Keathley, on the staff at Eau Claire schools.
The districts are among several in Southwest Michigan serving the migrant population. Others are Bangor, Coloma, Dowagiac, Hartford, South Haven and Watervliet.
The money comes from federal and state sources.
The programs tend to take summer into account and combine academics with other activities, like field trips and special events. When possible, students can earn high school credits.
Eau Claire schools had a "fiesta night" Wednesday to celebrate the end of the summer program while Berrien Springs had an open house for students and their families.
Sylvester Elementary School Principal Danny Bartz is in charge of the summer migrant program at Berrien Springs, which has had such a program for many years. He said the goal this summer was to do more to emphasize academics for the 120 students, ages 3 to 18.
"This year, we've tried to incorporate what we're doing during the year with our reading and writing program and our safe and civil schools initiative," he said. "We have ramped up our academic expectations. We've really tried to focus on reading and helping them understand more of the English language.
www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2011/07/28/local_news/5847993.txt
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