MEP Program Components
The Migrant Education Program (MEP) is responsible for the delivery of services to all eligible Migratory students in Arizona. The purpose of the MEP Service Delivery Plan (SDP) is to provide local MEP directors, program managers and teachers with a blueprint that can be used to improve the academic achievement of Migratory students and youth living in Arizona. The 2019 MEP SDP was developed through a collaborative process by the SDP Committee to:
- Provide details on objectives, strategies, and activities planned to meet state performance goals,
- Identify the resources available to implement the plan and
- Describe a system for local accountability
This Service Delivery Plan (SDP) is submitted in fulfillment of federal statutory and regulatory requirements set forth in Title I, Part C - Education of Migratory Children of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. It is part of a continuous-improvement cycle of program-planning, implementation and evaluation (see the figure below). Each step builds on the previous step and informs the next.
There are four stages to the continuous improvement cycle:
1) a comprehensive needs assessment which captures the current needs of the Migratory students;
2) a service delivery plan is drawn up based on the needs identified in the first stage;
3) implementation of the program services needed to assist our students; and
4) a program evaluation to determine if the objectives of the services were met. The last stage informs the first stage for the next cycle.
New AZ SDP Report
In 2019, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE), Research and Evaluation Division (R&E), and META Associates utilized the Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA) Toolkit provided by the United States Department of Education (ED), Office of Migrant Education (OME) to guide ADE MEP CNA for the first stage of the next improvement cycle. The purpose of the CNA was to identify and prioritize the unique and continually- challenging educational needs of Migratory students and describe strategies to move Migratory students to academic proficiency (meeting state performance targets).
The SDP committee guided by META Associates used the concerns and strategies described in the CNA and the previous program evaluation as the foundation to begin developing the SDP. The committee was made up of MEP Directors, MEP Recruiters, Community members, ADE Content Specialists and Parents.The following components are required by statute to be included in a State comprehensive SDP:
1) Performance Targets. The plan must specify the performance targets that the State has adopted for all Migratory students for: reading; mathematics; high school graduation/the number of school dropouts; school readiness (if adopted by the SEA); and any other performance target that the State has identified for Migratory students. (34 CFR 83[a][1])
2) Needs Assessment. The plan must include identification and an assessment of: (1) the unique educational needs of Migratory students that result from the children’s migrant lifestyle; and (2) other needs of Migratory students that must be met in order for them to participate effectively in school. (34 CFR 83[a][2])
3) Measurable Program Outcomes. The plan must include the measurable outcomes that the Migrant Education Program (MEP) will produce statewide through specific educational or educationally-related services. (Section 1306[a][1][D]) Measurable outcomes allow the MEP to determine whether, and to what degree, the program has met the special educational needs of Migratory students that were identified through the comprehensive needs assessment. The measurable outcomes should also help achieve the State’s performance
4) Service Delivery. The plan must describe the SEA’s strategies for achieving the performance targets and measurable objectives described above. The State’s service delivery strategy must address: (1) the unique educational needs of Migratory students that result from the children’s migrant lifestyle, and (2) other needs of Migratory students that must be met in order for them to participate effectively in school. (34 CFR 83[a][3])
5) Evaluation. The plan must describe how the State will evaluate whether and to what degree the program is effective in relation to the performance targets and measurable outcomes. (34 CFR 83[a][4])
