New tool to help migrant students succeed academically
Press release from State Supt. desk:
SACRAMENTO -- State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today announced that California will participate in the Migrant Student Information Exchange (MSIX) system.
"One of the most difficult challenges students of migrant families face is maintaining a continuum of education services because of the itinerant nature of their lives," said O'Connell. "This too often results in migrant students falling behind their peers academically. The Migrant Student Information Exchange system is one vital step toward providing continuity in the migrant students' educational experience to enhance their academic success."
Migrant students often change schools, school districts, even cross state lines during the year, because their families are seeking temporary or seasonal work in the agricultural, fishing, and dairy industries.
MSIX is a federal system mandated by Congress in Section 1308 (b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The system is designed to assist states in developing effective methods for the electronic transfer of student records.
MSIX is also a Web-based portal that links each state's migrant student record databases that include the pupils' educational records and health information, among other information. Only authorized school personnel and Migrant Education Program staff will be able to use the portal that is password protected. MSIX will help school staff make time-sensitive educational decisions more effectively. For example, school staff will be able to quickly access the students' previous enrollment records, course history, and assessments to determine the most appropriate placement within the pupil's new school. In the past, the new school would often have to wait for student records to be transferred from the previous school, which may impede staff from being able to immediately respond to the educational needs of the student.
In the next few weeks, the California Department of Education will send more than 200,000 eligible migrant student files to MSIX. For more information about MSIX, please visit http://www2.ed.gov/admins/
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