Pulaski County Schools' migrant program launches special library

Janie Slaven, Commonwealth Journal, Somerset, Ky.
·3 min read

Dec. 21—Pulaski County students got through the worst of COVID-19 lockdowns by adapting to distance learning.

For migrant students in families who often follow the crops for work, adapting — to new schools and communities — is a way of life. With the ongoing pandemic, such students in the local community are relying more than ever on the Pulaski County Schools' Migrant Education Program to help them keep up with classwork — and a whole lot more.

The Migrant Education Program supplements the educational needs of students with services such as tutoring, supplying necessary school supplies (backpacks, binders, pencils, paper, etc.), and helping track their growth as they progress through the district. The program is open to children (between the ages of 3 and 21) of migrant workers moving across district lines over a 36-month period, or anyone under 22 who works in the fields may qualify as an Out of School Youth (OSY).

"Migrant Education has been around since the 1960s all over the United States," Program Coordinator Kayla Shumaker said, adding that "migrant" doesn't necessarily equate to immigrant. "Migrant just means that you move frequently...Our students move pretty frequently due to agricultural work."

The office — located on the Pulaski County Board of Education campus off North Main Street — has a donations/clothing closet to help families with other essential needs and this year, program staff developed a library within their department.

"Our parents can come in and look at the clothing closet while their kids go into the library," Shumaker said, adding that the room is outfitted with toys and a dry-erase board for small children to play with. "They can also check out a book to take home."

Shumaker noted that the books are offered in both English-language and Spanish-language volumes. There are also multiple copies of popular titles, in case more than one child at a time wants to check a particular book out. The shelves are packed with a wide variety of subjects, from fiction to textbooks, at every reading level from Pre-K to High School.

"We have bilingual resources for parents; we have resources for ACT, PSAT, scholarships; we have books on becoming certified in a tech area if you don't want to go to college," Shumaker continued.

There are graphic novels for those who may not like to read at all.

"They don't see that as reading so much as looking at a comic book," Shumaker said, "but they're working on those skills."

The library has been particularly good for the students who don't yet speak English well, according to Shumaker, since trying to check out a book at school or even the public library can be a challenge if there's nobody that speaks Spanish to help them.

"If they find us — or we find them — we have a library for the students to come and check out books," she said. "I'm an avid reader, and if you can learn how to read, you can learn how to do anything."

Also new to the Migrant Education Program this year are tutors Katlyn Shepherd and Nichole Sharpe, who go into the schools to spend at least 20 minutes per week working with participating students on areas of study they may be struggling with.

"We have about 100 students in both Pulaski and Somerset Independent Schools," Shumaker said. "They split the schools and between the two of them, can see all of our students every single week. It's a big undertaking."

The Pulaski County Migrant Education Office is open weekdays from 8:30 to 5 p.m. when school is in session, though the program also offers a summer camp between each school year. If parents need assistance and the office is closed, they may reach Shumaker until 10 p.m. through the language-equity app TalkingPoints.