About Us
The Northwest Region Migrant Education Tutorial and Support Services (METS) is one of the eight regional offices in New York State’s Migrant Education Program. It is a federally funded supplemental program that provides direct educational programs and services to migrant-eligible children and youth, agricultural workers, fishers, and their families, within Monroe, Orleans, and Niagara Counties. The METS address the attributes and unique challenges that migrant students face in pursuing their educational goals, including:
- mobility
- educational disruption
- cultural and language barriers
- social isolation
- health concerns
- food insecurity
- homelessness
- poor living conditions
- limited knowledge of US laws
- regulations and customs
- poverty
- lack of transportation
- other factors that inhibit such migratory children from doing well in school and making the transition to postsecondary education or employment
With over 45 years of service, the Northwest Region Migrant Education Tutorial and Support Services Program has developed a high level of expertise in best practices for services. Our knowledgeable Migrant Educators recognize the attributes and unique challenges that migrant students face in pursuing their educational goals; they are also familiar with the many, often hidden, resources that migrant students bring to the educational process.
Direct educational programs and services are provided to migrant children at homes and in schools, linking migrant families with necessary academic, social, and health services and providing direct services to migrant families in the areas of academic assistance, advocacy, coordination with schools and community agencies, and other outreach activities.
The implementation of activities includes but is not limited to year-round strategic tutoring and academic support, home visits, a Summer School program (1-8 grade), home-based summer program, mentoring, educational and/or career counseling, strengthening family-school-community partnerships, parenting and preschool education, promoting parent and family engagement, advocacy services, support for youth who need to learn English, facilitating social-emotional well-being, fostering positive self-identity, and increasing students’ access to educational opportunities through promoting advocacy to self-advocacy and identity development.
These service efforts ensure that all migratory children and youth have the opportunity to graduate from high school; earn a high school equivalency diploma; complete career and technical education courses; or succeed at other alternative educational opportunities to be ready for college, career, and life.
Eligibility
A child is eligible for our services from birth to high school graduation or age 21 if they are designated as a migrant child. Children become eligible when a parent, guardian, or single adult crosses school district or state boundaries in pursuit of employment in agriculture, dairy farming, food processing, fishing, and logging within the past 36 months.
If you think you or someone you know may qualify for our program, please call:
- (716) 410-5522 (se habla español)
- 1-800-234-8848 (emergency hotline)
- (518) 289-5618 (Identification & Recruitment Office)