Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, Inc.

2014

NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER

“People Helping People”www.tvoc.org

In This Issue:* CEO News and Notes (Jason Carlson)* Head Start Programs Annual Report* Upcoming Calendar Items* Bloggers Needed

In This Issue:* Owatonna Literacy Event* Senior Citizens Volunteer Time* Children of Migrant Seasonal Ag Workers Get Assist

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know I certainly did.

November was one of those months where we had much going on but not much to share. There are several items in the works that I consider to be very exciting that just aren’t ready to be writ-ten about in the newsletter; couple that with no Board of Directors meeting and I don’t have much to pass along this month. With that said I will share what I have.

There are noises coming from the Logo Committee that progress is being made and that there may be something ready for the Board of Directors to consider by the deadline established at the

start of the process. I mention this as a reminder that the committee has been hard at work for a while and to prepare the agency for what will happen if the board decides to endorse a new logo. If that happens, a plan will be established that completely phases out all instances of the old logo. This includes clothing, stationary, signs, business cards, etc. Clearly that is a large task that will require participation by everyone at Tri-Valley.

Head Start has been notified that the first monitoring visit under the new protocol for five-year grant cycles will be the week of January 5th, 2015. Please be responsive to any requests for information or requests for participation in meetings.

In anticipation of recording and reporting requirements mandated by the Affordable Care Act, HR and Fiscal folks are working hard to come up with solutions that impact our operations as minimally as possible. If you are an em-ployee of Tri-Valley you can expect at some point in the near future to enter your Activity Report information into a computer or tablet. As time is getting tight to have a system in place by the start of 2015 I ask for cooperation and patience. Those who are responsible for the mandates are doing the best they can with limited time and limited in-formation.

The RFP has gone out to vendors who may provide Office 365 training for Tri-Valley employees. As promised, there will be 3rd party training provided to staff. The breadth and depth of training provided to individual employees may differ depending on your position. This has been determined by respective program management. After the trainings begin, please share with your supervisor if you do not feel adequately prepared to use the new software as a tool in your daily work.

That is all for this month. I look forward to sharing more about our current “irons in the fire” in the next few months.

Bloggers Needed!

If you are interested in writing an occasional blog arti-cle for the Tri-Valley blog page, please email Mitch at mitch.bakken@tvoc.org.

The Owatonna center held a literacy event at the end of Oc-tober. The event was really well attended and the parents were engaging with their children the entire time. They also did a reading challenge and had more than 25,000 minutes of In-Kind from the families in less than three weeks! It was a “Goodnight” theme and families were invited to wear their pajamas and the staff wore their pajamas too.

Upcoming December Calendar Items:* December 1- Head Start / Early Head Start Poli-cy Council Meeting.* December 13- Migrant & Seasonal Head Start / Early Head Start Policay Council Meeting.* December 14- Holiday Train in Detroit Lakes at 3:30 PM.* December 14- Holiday Train in Plummer at 6:15 PM.* December 14- Holiday Train in Thief River Falls at 7:45 PM.

The 2014 Tri-Valley Head Start Programs Annual report is now available online at http://tinyurl.com/nu4c8dc.

Senior Citizens Volunteer Time to Work with Northwest Minnesota Youth By Mathew McKay, Special to the Herald. Photo by Bobbi DuChamp

To Hazel Trogstad, no one is ever too old to volunteer.

The Fosston, Minn., resident is performing her 10th year of service after turning 79 in August.

Once a high school library assistant, Trogstad now works with children at Magelssen Elementary School in Fosston with longtime friend and licensed teacher Sue Skunes.

Trogstad is one of five foster grandmothers at Magelssen Elementary working with students and one of 81 foster grand-parents in the area. The Foster Grandparent Program is run by the Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, headquartered in Crookston.

The program brings together volunteers 55 and older and youth in 11 northwest Minnesota counties. A similar program operates in North Dakota.

The grandparents volunteer in schools, Head Start centers, developmental achievement centers, nonprofit childcare cen-ters, juvenile detention centers and other settings.

The program is close to the heart of Heidi Simmons, Tri-Valley’s director of senior programs. Her own children have worked with volunteers and enjoyed the experience. She said the grandparents bring a different element to the classroom.

“(The younger kids) are not so much interested in impressing a teacher,” Simmons said. “It’s more that they want to im-press the grandparents with what they learned or what the grandparent has taught them.”

Rewarding experience

Looking back on her time as a library assistant and foster grandparent, Trogstad said each job has had its difficulties but she has enjoyed both.

“Working in the library of the high school was challenging because the students would come in with projects, and we would have to help find information on whatever they were doing,” Trogstad said. “Now it’s challenging helping these new students, kindergarten through second grade, who have problems reading — to help them learn the words and the sounds.”

Despite some struggles, Trogstad said being involved is rewarding.

Trogstad started volunteering as a foster grandparent in a fifth-grade classroom after her husband died and she was invited to join Skunes in the classroom.

Skunes said working with Trogstad has been invaluable.

“It’s wonderful having another adult in the room. Everything from a nose bleed to someone who was not in class — she would help that child get caught up and kind of reteach them from the day before,” Skunes said.

Together, the friends spent seven years teaching fifth grade before moving to the new Level Literacy Intervention Program room, where they work with students who are reading below their normal level. (Senior citizens volunteer continued on next page)

(Senior citizens volunteer continued)Study buddies

This year Trogstad and Skunes have been working with 18 students from first and second grade, usually in groups of three. While the number stays about the same throughout the year, students come and go.

“We will have some of them for the whole year if they need it,” Trogstad said. “If they excel, keep reading real good and continue working good in the classroom, then they will go back to working in the classroom only and we will get new students.”

Trogstad has become accustomed to working with students a few times a week in hopes they reach the point when they can rejoin their classmates.

“I really enjoy having them read to me, from now until say a month from now, to know how much they have improved in their readings,” Trogstad said.

Outside of normal class days, Trogstad said they encourage the students to read a few books at home as well.

“We do not care if they read to their mom, dad or their teddy bear — we just encourage them to read at home,” Trogstad said.

She said while it’s tough seeing students move out of the program every year, it means a new beginning for them.

“I like being able to meet the new children” she said. “I like the fact that we have worked with (past students), but now they can go on and be better students as they grow older.”

Grandma Hazel has become a minor celebrity around the area. She was recently featured on WDAZ's "People You Should Know" segment as well. Thank you WDAZ! http://www.wdaz.com/content/people-you-should-know-hazel-trogstad. If you would like more information on Tri-Valley Senior Programs, please call 218-281-5832.

Children of Migrant Ag Workers Get Seasonal Assist By MARIE WOOD | Photo by JOHN CROSS (The Land Online)

Education Season: Part 1 of a 2-part series on support for the children of mi-grant farmworkers

The banner reads “Para Los Ninos” (for the children) and hangs outside the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start and Early Head Start center housed in the old grade school in Elysian, Minn.

Inside, migrant children, six weeks to age 5, are getting kindergarten ready as they learn, play, eat and nap. Most of the parents work at the pea and corn pack-

ing plants in Waseca and Montgomery, Minn.

One of the biggest challenges for migrant children is the disruption of their education. That’s why the national Migrant Education Program, provides educational and support services to eligible migrant children between the ages of 3-21 each year. Head Start and Early Head Start serves pregnant women and children through age 5.

Isabel Ramirez and Eric Silva of Faribault, Minn., have three children that are bussed to and from the Elysian center, which provides Head Start services from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. The couple worked first shift at Birds Eye Foods in Waseca, packing peas in June and July and then rolled into corn packing through September.

“This is a really great place for all the children and for us as parents, because we’re not worried. They take care of them good. They eat well and learn a lot,” said Eric through a translator.

The children seem happy and at home here. Marilyn, 2, and Damien, 4, played with the dollhouse in the preschool room. Sofia, at 9 months, followed suit until her attention was captivated by taking colorful toys in and out of a box. Next Damien turned to Duplos and counting. Marilyn served up food from the play kitchen stocked with multi-cultural food from sliced bread to tortillas and beans.

“They learn to speak English and Spanish, how to play with other kids. They help them get potty trained,” said Isabel. “Marilyn has learned a lot since she’s been there. They’re very kind here.”

Education, health services

The Elysian Migrant and Seasonal Head Start and Early Head Start Center is one of 14 centers in Minnesota operated by Tri-Valley Opportunity Council. The centers combine education with support services to assist families from May through December.

“We offer early childhood education, health services, we make sure they are up-to-date on their shots and offer resources for medical and dental treatments,” said Laura Elfert, center manager.

Eric and Isabel’s is one of the lucky families, because they aren’t moving at the end of the season. Last year, they returned to Wisconsin, where they lived with Isabel’s mom. That means their eldest daughter, Briana, 10, won’t have to change schools this year. They are staying in their rented home in Faribault and working in a Mexican restaurant until their packing jobs resume next June.

Many migrant families from the Elysian center have returned to their home state of Texas. In 2014, the center served 63 children and pregnant women and will continue providing services into December.’

Isabel, originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, grew up in Wisconsin on a dairy farm owned by her parents. In the summer of 2013, Eric and Isabel brought their family to Minnesota to apply for jobs at the Birds Eye plant. Isabel had worked for Birds Eye Foods in Wisconsin. That summer, Isabel saw a flyer for the center and called. Liz Zamora, Tri-Valley Oppor-tunity Council recruiter and family advocate, helped the family find a rental house and enrolled them for services. The family is grateful for the excellent care and resources. For instance, the family received car seats and learned how to use the seats properly. (Seasonal Assist story continued on next page)

(Seasonal Assist story continued) “They (car seats) are very expensive and we can’t afford it,” said Isabel.

At Head Start parent meetings, Isabel has made friends — most of whom she won’t see again until next summer. Already a loving mom, the meetings taught her about child care and development to improve her parenting.

“I learned how important it is to brush their teeth,” said Isabel.

Isabel and Eric are looking to their children’s future. Eric graduated from high school in Guanajoato, Mexico, but Isabel never graduated from high school. While Isabel wants to earn her GED, she has higher aspirations for her children. Isabel’s dream for them is “to study, be happy and healthy, and to go to college.”

Serving migrant families

The Migrant and Seasonal Head Start and Early Head Start mission is to cultivate lifelong learning in children and fami-lies, while the short-term goal is kindergarten readiness. To that end, children are screened for development.

If delays are diagnosed, family advocates connect the families with services such as speech or physical therapy. Sometimes family advocates or the center nurse will transport the children to medical appointments. Throughout the process, Zamo-ra sees the parents grow and learn about their child’s development.

To identify families in need of migrant services, Tri-Valley’s recruiters and family advocates meet with human resources and managers at packing plants, as well as with farmers and orchard growers. Sometimes the plant managers are not inter-ested, said Melanie Wolff, recruiter and family advocate at the Elysian center. Many managers are grateful so the recruiters go to break rooms to talk to workers. All the recruiters and family advocates speak Spanish and English.

“We work to form partnerships with workplaces and farmers, as well as local community resources including food banks, churches and landlords in order to meet the needs of families,” said Elfert.

For three summers, Zamora has been helping migrant families in southern Minnesota. The three biggest needs are cloth-ing, food and housing. One of Zamora’s families needed a table where they could eat their family suppers. Most are in need of warm clothes, hats and sweaters for their children.

“They don’t come prepared for this weather,” said Zamora.

Support services can also include helping parents get scholarships to obtain their GEDs.

Zamora’s heart goes out to her families that pack up and head back to Texas and other states every October. With each family, Zamora sets goals and makes a plan to transition them to the next school district.

“It’s hard for school-aged children because they just get started at school,” she said.

In Minnesota, Tri-Valley Opportunity Council identified 1,767 migrant children in 2012-13. On average,

1,300 children age 3 to 21 are served annually in the Migrant Education Program.

Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, Inc. (TVOC) is a community action agency headquartered in Crookston, MN. It is our Mission to provide opportunities to individuals and communities in order to improve the quality of our lives. In existence since 1965, TVOC provides services in 84 counties in Minnesota and Northeast North Dakota. For more infor-mation on services offered by TVOC please call 218-281-5832 or 800-584-7020.

Did You Know?...* You can receive more information on Tri-Valley’s programs and services by calling 218-281-5832 or 800-584-7020.

* You can keep up with Tri-Valley news on the TVOC website at www.tvoc.org, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TVOCInc and on Twitter at @Tri-Valley_TVOC.

* Everyone can receive the Tri-Valley Newsletter. If you know of anyone who would like a copy please have them contact Mitch Bakken at 218-281-5832 or mitch.bakken@tvoc.org.

This information is available in alternative formats to individuals with disabilities. Contact us at 1-800-584-7020 or by calling the Telecommunication Relay Service at 711 or 1-800-627-3529. Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer/provider. EOE/M/F/D/V