The Education of Migrant Children in Michigan: A Policy Analysis Report. JSRI Occasional Paper No. 72. Latino Studies Series.

A Michigan State University policy analysis class explored migrant education in Michigan through literature reviews and interviews with policymakers, teachers, and migrant children and their families. They identified four areas that need attention. First, people who understand the learning needs of migrant students should be recruited as teachers. Teachers who have the dispositions and ability to teach Latinos and other minority groups should be selected. Quality professional development should be available to teachers and aides instructing migrant children, and these teachers and aides should have knowledge of Spanish and English as well as pedagogies that allow self-regulated learning and critical thinking without devaluing diverse cultures. Second, family-school relationships can be strengthened through a "students as ambassador program" to facilitate teacher-parent communication. Third, technologies used in schools should be evaluated for cost-effectiveness, appropriateness for migrant students, and contributions to equitable access to quality education, higher achievement rates, and lower dropout rates. Finally, the allocation of resources should be studied to see how migrant students can gain real access to school personnel and facilities, how qualified teachers and aides can be hired and developed, how students can get technology they can use and "take with them," how to develop funding formulas that are more equitable to small rural schools, and how to deliver the most help at the elementary school level. An appendix presents two articles about educational initiatives in Colombia and the Dominican Republic. (Contains 55 references.) (TD)