Migrant numbers drop, but big needs persist by Alison Smith

• Sunday, May 29, 2016 Enterprise Editor Virginia Hutchins [ 208-735-3242 • vhutchins@magicvalley.com ] • B1

THE BIG STORY

Jesus Becerra, center, participates in a reading exercise in his kindergarten class at Oregon Trail Elementary School on April 27.

Migrant Education

Migrant Numbers Drop, but Big Needs Persist

JULIE WOOTTON

Program Basics

jwootton@magicvalley.com‌

‌ WIN FALLS • Their first winT ter in Twin Falls, three siblings walked to school in a swirling January snowstorm. Their parents, migrant workers from Mexico, were already at work and didn’t know their children could take a bus to school.‌ In a new place, even the basics can be mysterious. Across Idaho, the number of migrant families has dropped sharply due to fewer seasonal jobs and families becoming more geographically stable. But behind those falling numbers are persistent needs — gaps that migrant education in Twin Falls and around the nation is trying to address. “It fills a need of particularly vulnerable students,” said Julie Sugarman, a policy analyst for the Washington, D.C.-based Migration Policy Institute. Migrant children frequently have their education interrupted when parents move for work. Then their learning lags. Credits might not transfer to new schools. Language barriers can complicate the effort to catch up. On that snowy January morning three years ago, Abby Montano was driving to work at Oregon Trail Elementary School. As the Twin Falls School District’s migrant coordinator, she’d met the Gomez Arroyo family and recognized the three children walking in the snow. “My heart just sank,” she said. Juan, a middle schooler at the time, was wearing old shoes from Mexico, with holes. Montano picked up the children, drove them to school and told their parents about the bus. When the family had arrived in Twin Falls for work nine months earlier, Eva Arroyo told her husband, Enrique Gomez, their children needed to be in school right away. But she had no idea how or when to register them. Was April too late? Arroyo went to Bickel Elementary School to get help. Employees enrolled her two daughters there and signed up her son for Vera C. O’Leary Middle School.

More Inside

STEPHEN REISS, TIMES-NEWS‌

Abby Montano, center, Twin Falls School District’s migrant coordinator, tours the Twin Falls Public Library with the Gomez Arroyo family May 14.

About this Project

After attending the Institute for Justice and Journalism’s fellowship training this spring, education reporter Julie Wootton is following two families served by the Twin Falls Wootton School District’s migrant education program through the 2016 agricultural season. Watch for two more installments of Wootton’s special reporting project this summer and fall. The school district identified the family as “migrant,” meaning the children qualify for services such as academic tutoring, migrant preschool and free food and blankets. Montano told the girls about the migrant program at Oregon Trail

An audio slideshow at Magicvalley.com features each member of the Becerra and the Gomez Arroyo families talking about his or her life.

A gallery at Magicvalley. com showcases the work of photojournalists documenting the Becerra and the Gomez Arroyo families’ lives.

Elementary. They were afraid to switch schools and cried, she said, but she told them they could visit her in-school office anytime. She’s a handy person to know. Migrant liaisons like Montano can issue vouchers for free clothing, drive children to medical appointments and ensure that high schoolers register for the classes they’ll need to graduate.

school year. In Twin Falls, the number of migrant children has also dropped: by 37 percent in the past four years. For decades, the school district had only one migrant liaison to work with families. In 2011, the district added two new employees. “Numbers had increased and we were trying to get more services,” said Bill Brulotte, federal programs director for the Twin Falls district. Now, fewer families qualify. One reason for the decline: “The jobs aren’t there anymore,” said Christina Nava, director of English learner and migrant programs for the Education Department. “They’re more industrialized or

Fewer Migrant Families‌ The Idaho Department of Education served 11,549 migrant children, ages 3-21, during the 200001 school year. That dropped to just 3,994 during the 2013-14

Who qualifies as migrants? The Idaho Department of Education defines a “migratory child” as someone who: • Is not older than 21 and is entitled to a free public education. • Is a migratory agricultural, dairy worker or fisher, or has parents in those occupations. • Moved within the past 36 months for qualifying work or moved with parents. • Has moved from one school district to another, or resides in a district with more than 15,000 square miles and migrates more than 20 miles. What services do they receive? In Twin Falls, qualifying families receive free preschool, three-week summer school and tutoring. Families receive assistance with connecting to community resources, such as doctors and dentists, and with transportation to appointments. Families can get a voucher to Desert Industries to get free clothing for their children. Where does funding come from? School districts receive federal money to provide services to migrant children through Title I, Part C of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Title I as a whole is used to provide services to disadvantaged students, such as those at schools with high poverty rates. have just gone away.” Families are also becoming more geographically stable, so they’re no longer consider migrant. “Most of our families don’t want the interruption in the school calendar,” said Lucinda Padilla, one of three migrant liaisons for the Twin Falls district. Please see EDUCATION, B2

Demand Maxes Out Idaho Universities’ Migrant Programs 2 Becerra Family: ‘He Loves His Job’ 3 Gomez Arroyo Family: ‘Our Plans Are to Stay Here’ 4

B2 • Sunday, May 29, 2016

Demand Maxes Out Idaho Universities’ Migrant Programs JULIE WOOTTON jwootton@magicvalley.com

DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS

A child gets off the school bus April 28 at El Milagro Housing Project in Twin Falls.

A Standout District Across Idaho, 43 school districts — including Twin Falls — qualify for federal money to educate migrant children. Each school district writes a plan on how it will use that money. “Summer school is a big, big part of that,” Nava said. It keeps children out of the fields. It also allows them to have access to food while their parents work. But migrant education money can be hard to access, Sugarman said, and schools must meet many federal requirements. For time-strapped

Annual average number of agricultural workers in Idaho 60,000

Agricultural employment by county in February 2016 (the most recent data available): 500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

Twin Falls Jerome 56,000

Gooding Cassia Minidoka Lincoln

52,000

Blaine Camas 48,000

Top 5 counties for agricultural employment (January/February averages): 1,000

2016: 43,319 (Jan./Feb. average)

44,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

Canyon Twin Falls

U of I

Jerome Gooding Bingham

40,000

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Source: Idaho Department of Labor

Idaho Migrant Children Idaho

12,000

Idaho numbers of migrant children, teens and young adults are dropping, in part due to seasonal job numbers declining, families becoming more geographically stable and the state not identifying all of the families who need services. These numbers, reported by school year, include all migrants ages 3-21 identified by the Idaho Department of Education and eligible for schools’ migrant services – not merely students.

10,000

8,000

6,000

Twin Falls 600 4,000 400 2,000

15 /2 0

13 /2 0 20

14 /2 0

/2 0 12

/2 0 11 20

13 /2 0

11 20

10 /2 0 20

08 /2 0

07 06 /2 0

05 20

04 /2 0 20

02 /2 0

200

About 80 percent of families served in Twin Falls’ migrant program are becoming more stable, Montano said. But for families who still move to follow annual work cycles, school officials are seeing the same ones return at the same time each year. An influx of migrant families still arrives to Twin Falls every February and March to prepare land for the agricultural season. Another round of newcomers arrives in summer or fall to harvest crops. Va r i o u s G e m S ta te crops — including corn and alfalfa — draw migrant workers. Forestry is big in northern Idaho, Nava said, and other workers come to Idaho for fishery, dairy and cattle jobs. The Twin Falls district often sees its lowest migrant enrollment in December. Some families pull their children out of school for a month to travel to California or Mexico, but they end up coming back. “They do miss a lot of school in December and January,” Padilla said. It’s also common for families to take long spring breaks to work elsewhere. But other parents are finding more stable, yearround work such as at Chobani’s yogurt plant in Twin Falls or at dairies. And some families are finding apartments or houses instead of using migrant housing. Labor camps are starting to become a thing of the past, said Jose Villalobos, recruiter and retention counselor for Boise State University’s College Assistance Migrant Program. Parents are seeking jobs with higher wages and more stability. “The parents are really working to create the most stable environment for their children so they can get an education,” said the program’s associate director, Gypsy Hall. “The parents are very, very supportive of their children going to college in general.” But another factor behind the falling number of migrant children is simply failure to identify them. The Education Department needs to kick up that effort a notch, Nava said. “Quite honestly, we need to do a better job recruiting.”

Idaho Ag Employment

00 /2 0

Continued from B1

Education

School Years Sources: Idaho Department of Education, Twin Falls School District

among states.

Top 10 School Districts

Identifying Families

Idaho school districts with the largest numbers of migrants ages 3-21 eligible for services, as of March: Vallivue

307

Caldwell

255

Minidoka County

215

Twin Falls

191

Cassia County

177

Nampa

133

Jerome

120

Homedale

Idaho Falls

Aberdeen

62 Source: Idaho Department of Education

school districts, “they may find it’s not worth it to go that route.” Twin Falls ranks fourth among Idaho school districts with the largest number of migrant students, behind Vallivue, Caldwell and Minidoka County. Cassia County and Jerome are also in the top 10. Twin Falls and Vallivue districts are “shining stars” in terms of the number of employees dedicated to helping migrant students and their families, Nava said. “Really, you have to have someone on the migrant program full time.” But that’s a challenge for smaller districts. For example, the BruneauGrand View School District in southwestern Idaho receives minimal funding, and its migrant liaison is also a cook.

TWIN FALLS • Two Idaho universities offer migrant student programs but can’t keep up with the demand. “We have more students applying to the program than we can serve,” said Gypsy Hall, associate director for Boise State University’s College Assistance Migrant Program. “There is definitely an interest in migrant students going to college.” But one thing Victor Canales-Gamino has noticed when he recruits for University of Idaho CAMP: He doesn’t usually see boys attending information sessions. “They’re thinking about working,” he said. “They’re thinking about helping their families or going to a community college nearby.” Alejandra “Vivi” Gonzalez and Karla Gonzalez — both 2012 Jerome High School alumna — grew up going to school together but parted ways for college. They graduated in early May, each earning three bachelor’s degrees. Both were enrolled in CAMP, which provides academic support, financial aid and support services to participating firstyear students.

“That’s what we have to figure out at the state level: how we can help them,” Nava said. “They want to help and have a dedicated staff but don’t have the resources.” As migrant children grow up, the big goal is to ensure they graduate from high school. When teenagers move around frequently, they often don’t have grade reports or transcripts. That means they may have to retake a class — such as Algebra I — they’ve already completed in a different school district. But the Twin Falls district takes time to search for academic records using the Migrant Student Information Exchange. Run by the U.S. Department of Education, it’s a way to securely transmit data

S i x-yea r- o l d Je s u s Becerra, a son of Spanishspeaking migrant workers, went through the migrant preschool program at Oregon Trail Elementary to prepare for kindergarten. It’s one of the offerings through the Twin Falls district’s migrant program, which this year receives $232,357 in federal funding to provide services to migrant children and their families. The program has seven employees: three liaisons and four paraprofessionals who work in classrooms. The result of migrant preschool? Jesus’ typical day in kindergarten doesn’t look much different from his classmates’. On a Wednesday afternoon in late April, Jesus sat at a circular table reading a picture book with three classmates. Once they finished, he pulled his blue plastic chair to a nearby table and looked through a stack of books in a plastic bin. “Which one do I want to read?” he mumbled to himself. He picked one and flipped through it, then put it back. “No, I want to do another one.” At the next station, Jesus and his classmates practiced writing words and used crayons to color a picture. Jesus looked at one of the pictures and said “el-ephant” slowly as he wrote. He gripped his pencil in his left hand, with a small pink eraser nearby. Please see EDUCATION, B4

Vivi earned degrees in political science, international studies and Latin American studies from U of I. After graduating in May, she was waiting to hear back about two opportunities: a year-long fellowship in Washington, D.C., with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, and a position with a Coeur d ’A l e n e based travel company to help lead a Cuba trip. Her parents moved Vivi to the U.S. Gonzalez about 25 years ago. Vivi was born in Twin Falls and lived in Wendell until second grade. Her family moved to Jerome, where her father worked at a dairy — the same one her grandparents and uncles worked for. “My childhood was a very happy childhood,” she said. Her father worked yearround, but her mother was a seasonal worker for Rite Stuff Foods sorting potatoes. She also did field work handling potatoes and onions. Vivi said there weren’t many migrant workers when she was growing up in Jerome. “We were such a minority that there weren’t a lot of services out there,” she said, but she had teachers who spoke Spanish and could communicate with her parents. During her junior year of high school, the family moved to Mexico for about nine months. After they came back to Jerome, Vivi found out none of the credits from the school in Mexico would transfer. She took summer school to make up for it. As she tried to catch up in school, she also worked at a greenhouse and didn’t think college would be a possibility. “My parents relied a lot on my income as well,” Vivi said. But at a college fair at Jerome High, she heard about the CAMP program and it sparked her interest. Vivi and her parents attended an information session and toured U of I. “My parents felt like they were leaving me in good hands at the university with people who really cared,” she said. During her freshman year, her roommates were from similar backgrounds and were also in the CAMP program. Throughout the year, the program was her support system and part

of her everyday life. She had daily study times and weekly check-ins with a counselor. “They would check up on us and make sure we’re doing OK,” Vivi said. At U of I, 35 first-year students are in the CAMP program each year. Students receive a $2,750 scholarship for the year. It’s based on financial need, so students must be eligible for federal Pell Grant money. They also receive a monthly $50 stipend after meeting with an academic adviser to go over grade reports. CAMP provides a leadership retreat and other educational and cultural events. First-year students are paired with CAMP alumni who offer support. Once students complete their freshman year, they receive follow-up services as sophomores through seniors. They also have access to a CAMP scholarship each year.

BSU

At Boise State University, the CAMP program is also popular, and there’s a waiting list with up to five students. “Every year, we usually h ave so m e students who are left out because we don’t have sufficient funds for it,” said Jose Villalobos, Karla recruiter and Gonzalez retention counselor. “We don’t want that (waiting) list to be huge because that would be doing a disfavor to the students.” Many program alumni do post-graduate studies, Hall said. “They go on to do all kinds of amazing things.” Karla, a CAMP participant, graduated from BSU this spring with degrees in accountancy, finance and Spanish. She’s a top 10 scholar — an award presented by the BSU Alumni Association. “It was really exciting,” said Karla, who spent most of her childhood in Jerome after her father got a job at a dairy. Scholars were selected a m o n g s t u d e n ts wh o applied, have a 3.8 grade point average or higher and are active on campus. Karla worked as a resident assistant in freshmen dorms. “It was just really nice helping them make that transition because I know how tough it can be,” she said. She was also a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, a business honors society; was on a student advisory council through the College of Business and Economics; and helped create a multicultural club on campus. She volunteered this year as an income tax assistant and competed in Seattle in an accounting case competition. Karla got a job as an accounting assistant at BSU’s business department. She will pursue a master’s degree in accountancy, and her tuition costs will be covered. BSU’s CAMP program is a mini-community, she said, that provides “a lot of support academically.” It also helps students transition from high school to university-level classes and understand the expectations. After freshman year, a career adviser sent emails and posted about opportunities frequently via a Facebook group. Getting to graduation day felt unbelievable, Karla said. In addition to her Idaho relatives, about 30 of her family members from California attended the ceremony. They took pictures, including one of Karla’s parents wearing her cap, gown and honors cords. “I felt like it wasn’t just my accomplishment,” she said. “It was theirs as well.”

Sunday, May 29, 2016 • B3

Becerra Family: ‘He Loves His Job’ JULIE WOOTTON jwootton@magicvalley.com ‌

‌ WIN FALLS • T Thursday is a special day for the Becerra family: It’s the only day of the week Porfirio doesn’t work, and he can pick up his 6-year-old son, Jesus, from kindergarten.‌ But that demanding job has let the Becerras stay in one place after years of moving around the Magic Valley. One Thursday afternoon in late April, Porfirio and his wife, Yolanda, drove from Oregon Trail Elementary School to their small house at the El Milagro Housing Project in Twin Falls. Within m i n u te s o f a r r iv i n g home, Jesus had linked up with his best friend — a 5-year-old boy from next door. Jesus stuck a fake fuzzy mustache over his upper lip, and his parents laughed. The next time the two boys reappeared, Jesus stood on a stool and opened the freezer door, taking out a pineappleflavored Otter Pop for himself and a different flavor for his friend. “He wants to share,” Yolanda, who knows only a little English, said through an interpreter. ••• Chatting about their lives that afternoon, she and her husband were lively, sometimes interrupting or talking over one another. The Becerra family had lived at El Milagro for less than a month, hadn’t signed a housing contract yet and weren’t sure how long they’d stay. For nine years, they moved around the Magic Valley for work. But now stability is possible: Earlier this year, Porfirio got a job caring for calves at a Kimberly dairy — managing their feeding schedule, for instance, and giving vaccinations. H is pay stub shows an address for Northwest Freight & Salvage Inc., where an employee explained that some family members who run the company also have a dairy. If Porfirio does something incorrectly when a calf is born — like pull it out too early — it could damage or even kill the cow or calf. A veterinarian comes to the dairy occasionally and asks questions about what he’s doing, Porfirio said through an interpreter. The vet is pleased with his answers. Porfirio watches the cows when they’re not feeling well, such as suffering from pneumonia or diarrhea. He takes notes with their tag numbers for the night worker. “Those kinds of sicknesses will kill a calf from one day to another,” he said through an interpreter. His wife chimed in: “He’s like a doctor for the calves,” she said, and laughed. She likes to call him the “calf nanny.” But Porfirio takes his job seriously. Mistakes could have big consequences: disease and death. “You have to have a lot of patience because they can’t be mistreated,” he said. “ He l ove s h i s jo b,” Yolanda added. Recently, “the foreman came and handed him a $50 bill” from the owner to express thanks for his work. Six days a week, Porfirio arrives by 7:30 a.m. — he likes to get there early — and works until at least 5 p.m. He starts tiring after his fifth consecutive day of work. “The sixth day is harder,” he said. But he’s fine after he rests on Thursday. “It’s a very strict job,” Porfirio said. “There’s not time for Thanksgiving and Christmas because, with animals, you have to attend them all the time.”

DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS‌

Jesus Becerra, 6, left, and a friend crawl around on a truck April 28 in front of Becerra’s home at El Milagro Housing Project in Twin Falls.

DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS‌

Yolanda Becerra hands son Jesus Becerra, 6, a hot Pop-Tart on April 28 at home in Twin Falls.

DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS‌

Porfirio Becerra talks about his life April 28 at El Milagro Housing Project in Twin Falls. A former construction worker, restaurant cook and dairy milker, Porfirio has taken care of calves for about seven years at various dairies and plans to stay at the Kimberly job for the long term. ••• Porfirio and his wife want to stay in Twin Falls, too. They’re comfortable at El Milagro, and it’s close to everything. Jesus has been at Oregon Trail since preschool, and they hope he can finish his elementary years there. The nonprofit Community Council of Idaho offers housing for migrant and seasonal workers across the Gem State. In the Magic Valley, that includes El Milagro — where the Becerra family lives — plus Colonia de Colores in Twin Falls and Proyecto Esperanza in Heyburn. Only a few buildings at El Milagro are visible from Washington Street South. But after driving in, visitors can see it’s a sprawling housing complex with dozens of units. That warm April afternoon, children wearing backpacks walked home f ro m t h e sc h o o l b u s. Younger ones wandered a tree-lined road and pedaled their bicycles. Birds chirped loudly. A re s i d e n t d r i v i n g slowly down the street stopped for a Chihuahua in the middle of the road. A man standing in his front yard shouted “Perro!” to the driver and pointed a warning. Eventually, the Chihuahua wandered off. Beyond small apartment

DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS‌

Jesus Becerra, 6, puts on a fake mustache. units, individual homes with worn paint — some surrounded by grassy yards and white picket fences — are lined up next to one another. In the Becerras’ house, their visiting 22-year-old son, with tattoos covering his arm, was alone watching television. He lives elsewhere in town with his girlfriend. “I don’t like the tattoos,” Yolanda said later, after he left. That house, white with worn blue trim, has a large, unmown lawn full of dandelions, chipped siding and an old wooden bench on a small front porch. In front, a bright yellow sign warns: “Slow. Children at Play.” Inside, a jacket was draped over the seat of a folding beach chair and Jesus’ Spiderman toys peppered the floor of the narrow living room. “He likes to climb the trees, just like Spiderman,” Porfirio said. The Becerras — both

from the state of Nayarit in west-central Mexico, where they met and married — say they left Mexico because life was hard there. The little they have in the U.S. would make them rich people in Mexico, Yolanda said. ••• When the Becerras first moved to the U.S., they lived in Houston for seven years. They went back to Mexico for 1 1/2 years, then to California in 2000. They came to Idaho in 2007. Porfirio recently got his fourth work permit in the U.S. In October, he plans to apply for permanent resident status. To get an employersponsored Green Card, applicants may be eligible if they have a permanent employment offer here, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Po r f i r i o, wea r i n g a plaid shirt, jeans and cowboy boots at home

DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS‌

Jesus Becerra, 6, stands in his home’s doorway at El Milagro Housing Project. that late-April afternoon, said he prefers Yolanda doesn’t work. Before Jesus was born, Yolanda worked at a variety of temporary jobs: cleaning hotel rooms in California, cleaning beans on overnight shifts, sorting potatoes by size. All of those were repetitive work. After a co-worker at one of the jobs had four hand surgeries, Yolanda said, the employer provided wrist braces. When Jesus she born, Yolanda decided to stay home with him, like she did with her older son. A table in the Becerra home displays a lit candle and a miniature statue of Jesus Christ. Next to the candle is a photo of Porfirio’s former boss, dairy owner Michael George Vierstra, who died in October 2015.

“After he died, his wife sold everything,” Porfirio said. Porfirio worked at Vierstra’s Twin Falls dairy for more than four years and calls its former owners “very nice people.” That’s the kind of relationship that takes years to build — unlikely when you’re moving frequently for seasonal jobs. The conversation was interrupted around 5 p.m. when Jesus and his friend came into the house, saying in Spanish they were hungry. They snacked on a McDonald’s Happy Meal, apple slices with peanut butter and Pop-Tarts. In the sink, asparagus stalks soaked in a bowl of water. A neighbor’s small dog wandered into the house, a n d Yo l a n d a s h o o e d it out.

B4 • Sunday, May 29, 2016

DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS‌

Jesus Becerra, 6, jumps the fence into his neighbors’ yard April 28 at El Milagro Housing Project.

Education Continued from B1

When school was over, he spent the rest of the day at home: El Milagro Housing Project on Washington Street South. The migrant program that gave Jesus his jump start is open to families who’ve had a qualifying move within three years. The majority of students are Latino, but it’s not a requirement. When some families arrive in Twin Falls, Brulotte said, they don’t know how long they’ll stay and are hesitant to enroll their children in school. Migrant liaisons have offices at Oregon Trail Elementary, Robert Stuart Middle School and Canyon Ridge High School — the schools with the most migrant students — and incoming families often hear about the program via word of mouth. “Our program is pretty well known here already,” Montano said. Migrant liaisons also recruit by going to dairies, agricultural fields and migrant housing complexes. Padilla approaches families she sees buying groceries in Walmart and asks if they’re new. “You can’t be shy,” she said. Once liaisons explain the migrant program, Padilla said, families are generally open to it. The liaisons make sure to explain they’re not immigration officials. The Twin Falls district doesn’t ask about a family’s immigration status. It takes “any and all kids” and provides an education, Brulotte said. The only documentation a family needs is the birth certificate, proof of immunizations and proof of address that it takes to register the child at a school. Parents must also fill out a certificate of eligibility for the migrant program. Parents Porfirio and Yo l a n d a Be ce r ra sa i d through an interpreter they like the migrant education program and it’s helpful for Jesus. They didn’t know about the program until Montano came to the dairy where Porfirio worked, knocked on their door and asked if they had children. She helped them enroll Jesus in the migrant preschool at Oregon Trail. The program offers clothing for children and food for families, but the Becerras don’t need that assistance. Other families do, though, Yolanda said, especially those with many children. Montano calls families “to ask if they are OK or need anything,” Porfirio said. Yolanda said she talks with Montano at least once a week or whenever she goes to Oregon Trail. Three years after the January snowstorm when he and his sisters met Montano, 16-year-old Juan Gomez Arroyo goes to Canyon Ridge High and is interested in becoming a mechanic. Arroyo tells her son to be successful in school so Montano will be proud. “The migrant program has been so helpful,” Arroyo said through an interpreter. T h e G o m ez A r royo

children, Montano said, are like her own. As she prepared to leave the family’s home one early May evening, Juan’s sisters jumped around, chanting “Don’t go,” and gave Montano a hug.

Serving Migrant Families‌ With a high number of migrant students, the Twin Falls district’s federal funding enables a robust lineup of services. Families have the option of signing up children at Oregon Trail’s migrant preschool. About 30 students — ages 3 and 4 — are enrolled. (Another option is the Felipe Cabral Head Start program for children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers, run by the Community Council of Idaho. Classes are at El Milagro.) In middle school, the district provides one-onone tutoring for migrant students at Vera C. O’Leary Middle School and Robert Stuart Middle School. Other help is available for teenagers, such as the “outof-school youth” program for students who dropped out of school or are in the Magic Valley to work. The school district helps them earn General Educational Development certificates, go back to school, enroll at the alternative Magic Valley High School to catch up on class credits or take online classes via the Idaho Digital Learning Academy. “For the majority of them, once they leave school, it’s really hard for them to come back,” Padilla said. “Some of them really don’t want to go to school.” For high school migrant students, Padilla is constantly checking to see how many credits they still need to graduate. She helps them with financial aid and college scholarship applications. She had two migrant students on track to graduate May 24 from Canyon Ridge High. Sometimes, migrant students aren’t motivated initially, she said, until something causes them to see the importance of education. A big influence: “They don’t want to work in the fields like their parents.” Migrant liaisons are second mothers for students, Brulotte said. But they’re also a conduit to make sure parents are in the loop. “They’re keeping the lines of communication open between the schools and families.” The school district also has a migrant parent advisory committee. Liaisons talk with families about community resources and how to get more established in Twin Falls. Last year, parents told the district they wanted the three-week migrant summer school program expanded to include middle schoolers; they worried about their middle school children hanging out at home all day. The expansion become a reality. And the migrant summer school is popular. Kids who don’t qualify often beg to attend. Montano’s young students talk about it all year long, waiting for summer to return.

Reporter Julie Wootton, center, wrote her first story about migrant families after the Twin Falls School District’s migrant liaisons made a presentation to the School Board in 2011. As a child, she became curious about the topic after seeing migrant workers in California’s strawberry fields.

SHEALYN EMERY, FOR THE TIMES-NEWS‌

At home in Twin Falls on May 4: Enrique Gomez, Juan Gomez Arroyo, Maria Gomez Arroyo, Reina Gomez Arroyo and Eva Arroyo.

Gomez Arroyo Family: ‘Our Plans Are to Stay Here’ JULIE WOOTTON

jwootton@magicvalley.com ‌

‌ WIN FALLS • You’ve got T to go to Idaho, a friend in Mexico told Eva Arroyo and Enrique Gomez. There are lots of jobs there.‌ Enrique didn’t want to leave Mexico. But Eva wanted better educations for her children: Juan Gomez Arroyo, now 16, Maria, 12, and Reina, 10. They all were born in Tijuana, where they couldn’t depend on free public schooling past middle school. “We want them to get their education so they don’t have to struggle like we did,” Eva said through an interpreter. The family’s experience mirrors a trend: workers who moved repeatedly for jobs finally putting down roots in the Magic Valley. Inside the family’s home at the Colonia de Colores housing complex in Twin Falls, slipcovered sofas sit on wood floors, and two beta fish swim in small bowls on top of the entertainment center. The white walls display just a few family photos. On an early-May evening, the two daughters wore pink and purple sweats, matching headbands and light-up shoes. Their hair — which has never been cut and extends to their knees — was damp. As Eva talked, the girls leaped off the sofa to respond to a knock on the door. Juan is enrolled at Canyon Ridge High School, Maria at Robert Stuart Middle School and Reina at Oregon Trail Elementary School. Maria is doing “really well in school,” Eva said, and wants to be a teacher or doctor. “She likes to experiment.” Reina wants to be a teacher — or maybe a doctor so she can heal her own ears when they ache. “I will get five diplomas,” Reina said in English. When the family moved to Jerome, Reina was in second grade. She couldn’t read, and she struggled in school. “She got something blocked in her mind,” Eva said. “She was never interested in doing her homework.” But Reina’s academic performance has grown a lot this year, Eva said. What made the difference: the opportunity to join the school choir. She had to follow rules to get in, including doing her homework. Now Reina enjoys singing and acting in plays through the school’s afterschool program. “Reina can talk forever,” Eva said, “and she can act.” ••• At Colonia de Colores, small red-brick apartments line a narrow, circular road. That evening in early May, children were out riding bicycles and

STEPHEN REISS, TIMES-NEWS‌

Reina Gomez Arroyo, 10, searches for books at the Twin Falls Public Library on May 14.

SHEALYN EMERY, FOR THE TIMES-NEWS‌

Wearing a glove on her head, Reina Gomez Arroyo, 10, center, talks about school while her mother and sister look on May 4 at their Twin Falls home.

SHEALYN EMERY, FOR THE TIMES-NEWS‌

An Accelerated Reading award is displayed at the Gomez Arroyo home. playing. Mariachi music blasted from a front porch, where several adults sat in lawn chairs. When Twin Falls School District migrant liaison Abby Montano — who works with elementary schoolers — got out of her car, a swarm of children rushed over on foot or on bicycles. She chatted with them and gave them hugs. She knew them by name. Inside one of the brick apartments that night, Eva was tired after another long day sorting potatoes for Eagle Eye Produce in

Twin Falls. She finds green potatoes and ones that are smashed or have problems with their roots. “We’re throwing a lot of them out,” she said. “Potatoes are really bad right now.” That month, she worked 7 a.m.-9 p.m. some days. She was excited to get off at 6 p.m. one day. A former beet field worker and rock picker, Eva has sorted potatoes for two years. It’s a nearly yearround job, but workers are laid off for three weeks to one month, typically in

July. They start back up in August. Her husband — who mows lawns in Twin Falls and Jerome — gets home from work earlier and takes care of the children. Both have Saturdays and Sundays off. It’s a new level of stability. ••• When the family first came to the U.S., it was in Jerome for about a month. Eva worked at a potato plant and made only $446 every two weeks. She didn’t know how they’d pay rent. Her husband washed cowcleaning rags for a dairy. Enrique stayed behind for one year working, while Eva took the children back to Mexico and their small, crowded classrooms. In 2013, the mother and children came back to Twin Falls. At first, they shared a home with another family, and the five-member Gomez Arroyo family crammed into one bedroom. In December 2013, they moved into their apartment at Colonia de Colores. “It seems like the time has been so short,” Eva said. The family wants to put down roots in Twin Falls. “If God gives us life,” Eva said, “our plans are to stay here.”