Guest speaker, Raul Marquez, educates students in the Summer Academy program. Each week a different speaker came to give advice and help students learn subjects that may not be taught in school.
Nan Noteboom explains how to pay your taxes. The Summer Academy program met once a week for a month, to offer students an opportunity to better understand life outside of school.
Guest speaker, Raul Marquez, educates students in the Summer Academy program. Each week a different speaker came to give advice and help students learn subjects that may not be taught in school.
Contributed photo
Hood River Valley High School is offering a Summer Academy for migrant students whose families live in temporary housing and work in the agricultural industry.
Hood River County School District Family Engagement Specialist Jaime Rivera said the Migrant Education program had 17 students register for the summer program. During four weeks in July, they met in person every Tuesday night to learn about school and work skills, and to share a meal together.
According to the Hood River County School District’s website, the idea is to “help migrant students overcome problems that result from repeated moves and an interrupted education.” Coordinators Rivera and District Equity Director Patricia Cooper led the academy, with help from Andrea Flores, Juntos coordinator for OSU Extension Services, and Nan Noteboom, HRVHS teacher.
A few students who registered through the Migrant Education program went home with new DaKine backpacks.
Contributed photo
The program this summer took a different approach. Guest speakers from around Hood River came into the weekly sessions and presented on certain topics such as finances, resume building and other life skills. Raul Marquez, Lorena Salgado, Briseda Bolanos, and Monica Romero, mostly HRVHS alums, offered insight to the students. The four speakers had similar circumstances. They had all previously worked in the agricultural field, they all came from Latino backgrounds, and all speak English and Spanish. Following a lesson in banking and credit, loan officer at Pacific Northwest Credit Union, Marquez, and Hood River Mortgage Group mortgage broker Salgado helped the students understand the complicated world of credit and finance management.
Bolanos gave a lesson on building a resume and preparing for the next steps after graduation. Romero, the owner of an insurance company in Hood River, shared advice on the do’s and dont’s of insurance. Students were also guided through the process of college admissions and financial aid, and enjoyed perks like free DaKine backpacks
“It’s about planting seeds,” Rivera said. “We hope to give them a plan for post-graduation.”
Nan Noteboom explains how to pay your taxes. The Summer Academy program met once a week for a month, to offer students an opportunity to better understand life outside of school.
Contributed photo
Rivera hopes that, whether the students decide to explore higher education or enter the workforce after high school graduation, they will have a better idea on how to navigate life. Migrant Education operates under the umbrella of the school district’s summer school programs, which received expanded funding from the federal government in an attempt to “offset the trauma” of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Rivera.
Coming up in August, the Migrant Education program will offer weekly camps with a specific focus or theme. One week will be outdoor-oriented. The next will be a collaboration with FFA and the 4-H program and to cap off the summer experience, the Portland Timbers soccer organization will come out to Hood River and put on a soccer camp. The players will not be in attendance since they have a match, but representatives and other Timbers officials will make sure the students have an enjoyable experience. They will give instruction with three core values in mind: Culture, education and soccer. For a sweet treat to end the summer, the group of high school students and administrators will also attend a Timbers home game in early August.
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