Literacy Bags

Butte Valley Elementary School in Dorris, California, has a significant migrant farm worker population. Staff found that many families were taking extended holiday vacations to Mexico because it was important to them to see their families and that was the only time they had available. Staff at the school became concerned because students might miss four to six weeks of school in the middle of the year. This sometimes created tension between staff and families with staff trying to convince families to stay and families trying to make staff understand the importance of visiting family.

Eventually, the staff at Butte Valley decided to come up with a strategy to make the best of the situation. They decided the most important thing was to keep children hearing English while they were in their home country. In 2001, the administration bought inexpensive canvas bags, tape players, and books on tape. These "literacy bags" are sent off with students during their extended holiday vacations. This has led to increased communication and mutual respect between the school staff and families. The school is finding that not only are students returning from their vacations not as far behind in the curriculum, but also that many families are actually cutting their vacations a little shorter. The increased communication on this issue has created better overall communication between staff and families at Butte Valley Elementary School.

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