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New Directors' Orientation Tutorial
The New Directors' Orientation Tutorial is made up of 14 self-paced modules to assist in learning basic program requirements. Each module is designed to be utilized based on a Director’s specific needs; there is not a set sequence for the tutorial to be completed. We encourage Directors to jump to the module that best fits their needs. Select a module below to view or download the corresponding materials.
Modules
14. Managing the Migrant Education Program
Module 14. Managing the Migrant Education Program
All Module Materials
Overview
Supporting Materials
Section 1: Getting Started
Getting Started
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In This Section
• Tutorial Objectives
• How to Use the Tutorial
• Icons to Guide You
Tutorial Objectives
Module 14 will help state directors to
1. organize the work required to manage the Migrant Education
Program (MEP),
2. identify people who can guide and support them, and
3. prioritize their tasks.
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How to Use the Tutorial
For optimal benefit from the tutorial, you should
• allow sufficient time to read the slides, reflect on the information, and
complete all activities on the slides or on the Quick Resource and
Reflection Sheets (QRRS) that can be downloaded as worksheets;
• read each slide as well as the information referenced in the slides;
• engage with the “What Do You Think?” slides to facilitate interaction
with the information (Answers will be provided directly following each
of these slides.);
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How to Use the Tutorial
For optimal benefit from the tutorial, you should (continued)
• pause to reflect on your state program at the “Check-in” slides (A
QRRS document will typically accompany these.);
• complete the “Pop Quiz!” slides to reinforce key concepts;
• review your state’s MEP documents and reports as directed;
• develop an action plan using the worksheets provided;
• add actionable items to your MEP planning calendar (See QRRS 14.2);
and
• contact your OME Program Officer for follow-up questions.
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Icons to Guide You
The following icons will guide you in making the best use of this tutorial:
What Do You Think?
Check-in
Pop Quiz!
Quick Reference and Reflection Sheet (QRRS)
Action Planning
Calendar Item
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Section 2: Migrant Education Program - The Big Picture
Migrant Education
Program - The Big
Picture
In This Section
• A Complex Program
• Role of the State Director
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A Complex Program
The MEP has
• Many components, e.g.,
o ID&R
o Local operating agency (LOA) oversight
o Program Planning
o Child Count and Data Collection
o Cross-program Coordination
o Interstate Coordination
o Intrastate Coordination
o Participation in National Activities
o Parent Involvement
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• Many layers
o Federal
o State
o Regional and/or Local
• Many stakeholders
o Migrant children
o Parents
o Educators
o Program administrators
o Service providers
Role of the Migrant Education Program State
Director
The state director is the official
within his/her State educational
agency (SEA), responsible for:
• Oversight of the MEP,
• Program planning,
• Fiscal management,
• Contract management,
• Data collection,
• Coordination of all MEP
components,
• Professional development and
training,
• Cross-program coordination, and
• Monitoring and quality control.
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What Do You Think?
What do you think are your three biggest challenges as a MEP state
director?
1.
2.
3.
See QRRS 14.1 – Addressing the Challenges of Being a State Director
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What Do You Think? - Reflection
Following are common challenges state MEP directors have identified.
How many of your challenges are on this list?
• Understanding the many requirements for the program.
• Coordinating all components.
• Needing more expertise in a variety of areas.
• Meeting the needs of a wide range of stakeholders.
• Finding sufficient time and support to carry out responsibilities.
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Section 3: Managing the Work
Managing the Work
In This Section
• Organizing the Work
• Identifying Supportive Contacts
• Creating Capacity
• Prioritizing Activities
• Keeping Abreast of New
Information and Emerging Issues
• Keeping the Main Thing the Main
Thing
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Organizing the Work
Strategies
• Develop a master calendar based on the action plans in the tutorials.
o Review all QRRS Action Planning sheets from the modules and
compile a master action plan and calendar.
o The master calendar may need to cover three to five years.
o This activity will give you an idea of what resources, expertise, and
capacity you need to carry out tasks.
• Develop an organization chart for the MEP so that you and other
staff members can see how all components interrelate and what the
lines of responsibility are.
See QRRS 4.2 – MEP Master Calendar
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Organizing the Work
Strategies
• Organize the following information for easy reference:
o Law, regulations, guidance;
o Technical assistance documents; and
o State MEP documents and reports.
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Organizing the Work
Strategies
• Familiarize yourself with these federal and state administrative
requirements and protocols:
o Federal reporting requirements,
o Local monitoring,
o Fiscal management,
o Contracting, and
o Data collection.
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Identifying Supportive Contacts
Strategies
• Identify and utilize people in the SEA who can guide you and help navigate
administrative channels.
• Keep all local, state, and national MEP contact information up-to-date and
accessible.
• Identify and utilize state directors in other states who can share practical
information on implementing the MEP.
• Identify and utilize experienced LOA administrators and recruiters who can
assist with understanding state and local contexts for implementing the MEP.
• Identify and utilize people who can provide additional expertise you need in
areas such as data analysis, evaluation, staff supervision, or team facilitation.
• Work on creating partnerships – within your agency and with others who work
in your agency, in LOAs, and in nonprofit organizations.
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Creating Capacity
Strategies
• Devote sufficient time to train state MEP staff, LOA administrators,
and ID&R coordinators and recruiters so that they can carry out their
responsibilities effectively so that less of your time will be required for
ongoing technical assistance.
• Delegate tasks as appropriate to other MEP staff (e.g., LOA
administrators may be willing to present at state conferences or
mentor new administrators).
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Prioritizing Activities
In the course of the day, you are likely to face a number of challenges
and tasks that need attention.
• Keep in mind that not all tasks are of equal importance.
• Often, taking care of something important in a systematic and
comprehensive way will take more time now but will prevent the issue
from becoming a crisis later.
• Utilize a master action plan and calendar to keep you on track with
what you need to accomplish by certain deadlines.
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Prioritizing Activities
One way to approach multiple demands is to look at Stephen Covey’s
Seven Habits of Effective People. Covey suggests that work can be
categorized into four quadrants:
• Urgent (needs immediate attention),
• Not Urgent (does not need immediate attention),
• Important (must be taken care of), and
• Not Important (does not need to be taken care of)
Note: In the next slide, these quadrants might look for the work you do.
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Prioritizing Activities
Urgent Not Urgent
Important
Quadrant I
•
Submitting a report by a deadline
•
Addressing incorrect COEs
•
Following up on a parent
complaint
Quadrant II
•
Creating a policy
for interstate records
exchange
•
Conducting recruiter training
•
Monitoring LOAs
Not Important
Quadrant III
•
Attending mandatory meetings
not
related to the MEP
•
Searching through files to find
information in preparation for
federal monitoring
Quadrant IV
•
Responding
to every email as it arrives
in your office, rather than prioritizing
which ones need to be answered
immediately
•
Traveling to a face-to-face meeting
when a conference call would suffice
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Prioritizing Activities
More on Covey’s Quadrants:
• Effective people try to spend as much time as they can in Quadrant II
and to limit time spent in Quadrant IV.
• Prioritizing your work by determining in which quadrant the task would
fall can help you decide where to spend your time.
• A number of tasks may begin in Quadrant II but become crises for
Quadrant I tasks if not addressed.
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Check-in
Instructions: Estimate what percentage of your time each day on the job
that you spend on activities in each of the quadrants below. What
improvements do you need to make?
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Urgent Not Urgent
Important
Quadrant I Quadrant II
Not Important
Quadrant III Quadrant IV
Listing daily activities in the appropriate quadrants will help you prioritize
your work.
See QRRS 14.3 – Prioritizing Your Work
Keeping Abreast of New Information and
Emerging Issues
Migrant education is constantly changing and reflecting the nature of
the migrant population. New research, demographic trends, and
strategies can inform services, and federal laws and policies can impact
educators and migrant families. It is important that you build into your
schedule sufficient time to stay current on all relevant issues.
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Keeping Abreast of New Information and
Emerging Issues
Strategies for keeping up to date:
• Attend as many migrant-specific national conferences and national
trainings as possible.
• Stay abreast of your state’s migrant-specific data needs; bookmark
the MSIX website.
• Join LISTSERVs that will keep you informed of new research and policy
developments.
• Build in time each week to review new information.
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Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing
Above all, keep in mind that the focus of the work is to enable migrant
children to be successful in school and beyond. The work you do should
make a difference in the lives of migrant children and families.
• In a world of competing agendas and shrinking resources, missions
can get overlooked.
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Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing
Questions to keep in mind:
• Do I feel like the work I do benefits the lives of migrant children?
• On a day-to-day basis, do I feel like the majority of the small tasks I do
contributes to improving the MEP?
• Which of my tasks do not contribute to improving the MEP, and how
can I minimize the time devoted to these tasks?
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Section 4: Wrapping Up
Wrapping Up
In This Section
• Key Points
• Action Planning
• Resources
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Key Points
1. Working from a master action plan and calendar will provide you with
direction for accomplishing required tasks across program
components.
2. Spending time gathering technical assistance resources and state
MEP documents will save time later when you need these for quick
reference.
3. Having a system for prioritizing your time will enable you to choose
the tasks that are most important and will help avoid crises.
4. It is important to remind yourself frequently what the work is really
about.
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Action Planning
1. Revisit QRRS 14.1 to generate strategies that will help you address
your challenges in serving as the MEP state director.
2. Add items to your MEP master calendar.
3. Utilize the template provided in QRRS 14.3 on a regular basis to
categorize tasks in the quadrants according to their importance and
urgency.
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Add any actionable items to your MEP planning calendar.
Resources for Managing the Work
• MEP Guidance on Education of Migratory Children under Title I, Part
C, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 –
Explanation of guidelines to implement the laws and regulations
related to the MEP
• Covey, S.R. (1990). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. NY: Simon
& Schuster.
o Includes inspiration and strategies for using time effectively.
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