Webinars & Meetings
2024 Annual Directors’ Meeting
The Annual Directors’ Meeting (ADM) took place from Tuesday, March 5 through Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building in Washington, D.C. The meeting was designed to provide opportunities for engagement similar to what the Migrant Education Program (MEP) community has experienced in previous annual meetings.
2024 Annual Directors’ Meeting Sessions
Download the agenda for the 2024 Annual Directors Meeting. (PDF, 295KB)
8:30 – 9:00 am ET
Registration and Informal Meet and Greet Among Colleagues
Migrant Education Program (MEP) State Directors and guests will register or connect to virtual platform and have an opportunity to meet their colleagues and OME staff prior to the opening session.
9:00 am – 9:30 am ET
Welcome, OME Staff Introductions, and Meeting Overview
Tara Ramsey – Director, Office of Migrant Education (OME)
Office of Migrant Education (OME) leadership will welcome participants, introduce OME staff, and review the meeting schedule.
Welcome, OME Staff Introductions, and Meeting Overview Presentation Slides (PDF, 1.6MB)
9:30 am – 9:45 am ET
Keynote Address
Cindy Marten – Deputy Secretary of Education, U.S. Department of Education
Keynote address to be given by U.S. Department of Education (Department) Deputy Secretary Cindy Marten.
9:45 am – 10:00 am ET
Featured Guest Speaker
Griselda Guevara-Cruz – Washington MEP Student Events Program Supervisor
Remarks to be given by Griselda Guevara-Cruz, Washington Migrant Education Program (MEP) Student Events Program Supervisor.
10:15 am – 11:15 am ET
OME Updates
Tara Ramsey – Director, OME Patricia Meyertholen – MEP Group Leader, OME
OME leadership will share timely updates from the Department on issues relevant to the MEP. Participants will be provided opportunities throughout the session to raise questions and reflect on the topics covered.
12:45 pm – 2:00 pm ET
The MEP Service Delivery Plan (SDP) and Continuous Program Improvement
Facilitator: Katrina Ballard – Data and Evaluation Subject Matter Expert, OME Teresa Biagioni and Kelly Terpak – Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, Grants Policy Office, U.S. Department of Education Tomas Mejia – State Director, Colorado Migrant Education Program
In this session, we will dive into the MEP Service Delivery Plan (SDP) and discuss how to use the Measurable Program Outcomes (MPOs) for continuous program improvement, including examples from several States.
The MEP Service Delivery Plan (SDP) and Continuous Program Improvement Presentation Slides (PDF, 1.7MB)
2:15 pm – 4:00 pm ET
Evidence-Based Resources and Recommendations for Services (Whole Group)
Facilitators: Dr. Benjamin Starr – MSIX Project Lead, OME Jessenia Guerra – MEP Program Officer, OME Erin Pollard – Project Officer, Institute of Education Sciences
In this session, OME will present Department guidance for evidence-based services. An expert from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) at the Department will provide information about evidence-based resources and recommendations. Then, attendees will go to one of two breakout sessions they selected during the registration process: 1) Literacy-Focused Services for Early Learners and Family Literacy, or 2) Panel Discussion: MEP-Funded Services for Secondary Youth.
Evidence-Based Resources and Recommendations for Services Presentation Slides (PDF, 1.5MB)
Concurrent Sessions
1. Literacy-Focused Services for Early Learners and Family Literacy
Facilitator: Dr. Benjamin Starr – MSIX Project Lead, OME Dr. Marcia Kosanovich – Florida Center for Reading Research, Florida State University Dr. Sandra Barrueco – University of Maryland, Baltimore Campus Tamara Acuna – Chester County Intermediate Unit, Pennsylvania MEP
In this session, selected experts will present to States on best practices for teaching literacy to early learners and family literacy. Experts from the field will share common features of effective programs and discuss how these features could be implemented in MEPs. One MEP will share how it structures its literacy programs.
Literacy-Focused Services for Early Learners and Family Literacy Presentation Slides* (PDF, 6.8MB)
2. Panel Discussion: MEP-Funded Services for Secondary Youth
Facilitator: Jessenia Guerra – MEP Program Officer, OME Griselda Guevara-Cruz – Washington MEP Student Events Program Supervisor Hunter Ogletree – North Carolina MEP Education Program Administrator Michelle Williams – Michigan MEP State Director
A group of panelists will share examples of services linked to secondary credit accrual and increasing educational attainment for migratory secondary youth. Participants will have an opportunity to engage in small group discussions about their State’s services for secondary youth.
Panel Discussion: MEP-Funded Services for Secondary-Aged Youth Presentation Slides (PDF, 1.1MB)
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm ET
Resource Fair
This session will spotlight various Federally-funded resources to inform the design and implementation of MEP services. The goal is to increase awareness of existing resources and for attendees to gain at least one point of contact and/or resource to follow-up on post-ADM. In-person attendees will be able to visit the resource table(s) of their choosing, at their own pace. Given the format, there will not be a virtual option.
1. Migrant Student Information Exchange (MSIX)
Wahid Sadik – Deloitte Project Manager Nadia Abedi – Deloitte MSIX Functional Lead Chris Shella Li – Deloitte MSIX Functional Team Lee-Ellen Myles – Deloitte MSIX Functional Team
The Migrant Student Information Exchange (MSIX) application supports migratory students’ enrollment, placement, accrual of secondary credits toward graduation, and participation in the MEP. Topics for this year’s ADM Resource Fair include notifications and data requests, MSIX child count logic and reconciliation reports including the PFS, EL, IEP and QAD Reports, the Age Birth through 2 Report, Age Birth through 2 Summer/Intersession Report, Grade Level Issues Report, as well as new and upcoming functionalities to the MSIX system.
2. Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) Program
Bryan Thurmond – Office of School Support and Accountability
In School Year 2021-2022, the Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program served approximately 15,800 migratory students. During the Resource Fair, the EHCY program team will discuss eligibility overlaps between the EHCY program and the MEP, identify opportunities for cross-program collaboration to better identify and support students, and share resources for practitioners.
3. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) – Child Nutrition Programs Division
Kaylyn Padovani – USDA FNS Janneth Perales – USDA FNS Courtney Hruska – USDA FNS Evelyn Garcia – USDA FNS
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Nutrition Service resource table will provide information about programs that offer food and nutrition assistance for children, including the School Meals, Child and Adult Care Meals, and Summer Nutrition Program.
4. U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) – Employment and Training Administration – Office of Workforce Investment – National Monitor Advocate System
Timmy Dudley – DOL NMA Analyst
For over 50 years, outreach workers and Monitor Advocates have provided important support to U.S. agricultural workers and employers throughout America. The Monitor Advocate System is a federal/state monitoring system that ensures migrant and seasonal farmworkers (MSFW) have equitable access to career services, skill development, and workforce protections offered by American Job Centers, so they may improve their living and working conditions.
5. Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) – Management Support Office Data Team
Sarah Newman – Management Support Office Team Group Leader
OESE Management Support Office Data Team works with OESE’s data dissemination website and ED Data Express, as well as with the Consolidated State Performance Report (CSPR) and EDFacts data collected via the new system, EDPass. During the Resource Fair, the team will be available to answer questions on any of the data topics listed above as well as to collect feedback on this year’s MEP data submissions.
8:30 – 9:15 am ET
Regional Discussions with MEP Program Officers
In lieu of a quarterly regional call, MEP State Directors will meet with their regions and Program Officers. There will not be a virtual option for this session.
Preeti Choudhary – MEP Program Officer, OME (Mid-Continent: CO, KS, MO, NE, ND, and SD)
Jessenia Guerra – MEP Program Officer, OME (Southwest: AR, LA, NM, OK, and TX) (Southeast: AL, FL, GA, MS, and SC)
Sarah Martinez – MEP Policy and Team Lead, OME (Northwest: AK, ID, MT, OR, and WA) (West & Pacific: AZ, CA, NV, UT, and HI)
Michael Meltzer – MEP Program Officer, OME (Northeast: ME, MA, NH, NY, and VT) (Appalachian: KY, NC, OH, TN, and VA)
Dr. Benjamin Starr – MSIX Project Lead, OME (North Central: IL, IN, IA, MI, MN, and WI) (Mid-Atlantic: DE, MD, NJ, and PA)
9:15 am – 10:30 am ET
MEP Data Update
Preeti Choudhary – MEP Program Officer, OME Patricia Meyertholen – MEP Group Leader, OME
In this session, OME will provide an overview of data collected for the MEP, including data for national performance measures/leading indicators, the MEP Migrant Student Information Exchange (MSIX) National/State Profiles, the instruments used to collect these data, and the use of these data. OME will present updated targets for MEP Performance Measures 1 and 2. Participants will be given time for round table discussions about increases/decreases in their performance measures and data in their MEP State Profiles.
MEP Data Update Presentation Slides (PDF, 690KB)
10:45 am – 12:00 pm ET
Protecting the Civil Rights of Migratory Children
Eulen Jang, Civil Rights Attorney, Program Legal Group, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Michael Pillera, Civil Rights Attorney, Program Legal Group, OCR Facilitator: Sarah Martinez – MEP Policy and Team Lead, OME
The Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will provide an overview of its role in supporting the civil rights protections established by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and related laws. OCR will establish a basic understanding of these civil rights as they relate to school enrollment and meaningful participation in school. This session is intended to build participants’ capacity to recognize discrimination in schools and other educational programs, and better understand OCR’s complaint process. There will be opportunities to ask questions, and participants will be provided resources for future reference and deeper learning.
Protecting the Civil Rights of Migratory Children Presentation Slides (PDF, 537KB)
12:00 pm – 12:30 pm ET
Open Forum
Sarah Martinez – MEP Policy and Team Lead, OME
The open forum is an opportunity for participants to raise questions and concerns that were not addressed during previous sessions. Questions and concerns may be posed to OME staff or colleagues for peer-to-peer feedback. OME may also share responses to frequently asked questions or issues raised during the meeting that would be of interest to all Directors.
12:30 pm – 12:45 pm ET
ADM Closing Remarks and Group Photo
Tara Ramsey – Director, OME
OME leadership will share closing remarks, which will be accessible through a virtual platform. Group photos of in-person and virtual attendees will also be taken.
Meeting Objectives
The objectives of this meeting were:
- to facilitate opportunities for Directors to network and share best practices and resources;
- to provide Directors with information pertinent to the State administration and operation of the MEP; and
- to provide Directors and Office of Migrant Education (OME) personnel with opportunities to coordinate on issues important to the successful design and implementation of programs and services that benefit migratory children.