Every school has students from all walks of life. Some were born in the United States and some migrated here as fast as their parents could bring them. Our country has Migrant Education Programs to help students get through school and finish strong with a high school diploma or complete a GED.
The goal behind programs for migrant students is to give them an opportunity to finish high school and be productive citizens by gaining employment after they graduate. Many states offer different programs depending on the amount of migrant students living in their state and the Office of Migrant Education has grants available for school districts that offer high quality programs.
If your school has a population of migrant students, you may consider inviting a bilingual youth motivational speaker like Fabian Ramirez to come speak at school assemblies that you host. Fabian also does parent meetings which can be scheduled in the evenings.
Fabian was able to speak to students in the Oregon Migrant Education program as well as the Migrant Program in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas.
As a Hispanic, Fabian has a way of relating to teens who are migrant students. He talks about overcoming challenges in his life and throws out cultural references like waking up to his mother waking him up by screaming, “Mijo”. He also mentions how his favorite food is chorizo con huevo with fresh flour tortillas or as he puts it, “tortillas de harina”. The students go absolutely nuts when he talks about the Hispanic culture and he does so by using humor and kids are drawn into his message immediately.
The best part of Fabian’s message is the end. His message hits exactly where all Migrant programs want to land, with every student receiving a high school diploma. Fabian mentions how he almost dropped out in 7th grade but went on to not only graduate high school but finished college and how he now has a Masters degree.
His favorite quote to students is this, “When you graduate, your family graduates”. It’s true, that’s why the whole family shows up at high school graduations. Invite Fabian to speak at your next school assembly.
