By MARC SCHANZ, Staff Writer
Sunday, February 6, 2005
The fourth annual Regional Migrant Parent Conference on Saturday at El Centro's Valley Community School attracted more than 200 participants, including United Farm Workers of America founder Dolores Huerta, who spoke about the future of migrant families and their children.
Topics such as nutrition, developing reading skills, higher education and the dynamics of migrant families were the focus of several rounds of seminars throughout the day.
Hidali Garcia, director of Migrant Education Region 6 for the Imperial County Office of Education, said the conference is the culmination of meetings and workshops throughout the year with migrant parents.
"We wanted to focus our presentations this year to a few speakers, sticking to a few themes," Garcia said.
Six presenters presided over rounds of classroom instruction for migrant parents, educators and children, covering subjects as diverse as nutrition and the effectiveness of diets to dealing with adolescents.
"The audiences were very well prepared," said Dr. Bernardo Ng, a psychiatrist who gave three interactive talks on the changing dynamics of migrant families. The transient life of many migrant workers has presented difficulties in raising families, he said.
"I found that many families who were well organized were organized around their religion ... their church. It was very informative and there were some good discussions," Ng said.
The half-day conference on the campus of the Imperial County Office of Education was broadened this year to bring in parents as well as their children, Garcia added.
"Today is a family day," said Garcia. "At the heart of all success stories are family support and guidance.
As the conference closed, Rep. Bob Filner (D-Chula Vista) spoke about the necessity of programs such as migrant education and the need for parents to be involved with their child's education.
"In my former life I was a teacher, and I can tell you that when parents get involved, achievement goes way up," Filner told the crowd.
He also encouraged participants to stay aware of their local, state and federal government, as important budget decisions are looming that could affect education programs.
Staff Writer Marc Schanz can be reached at 357-7336 or at mschanz@ivpressonline.com