Project Alcanza
The Alcanza program is a partnership between UMOS, the University of Wisconsin
system, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, and the Midwest Food
Processors' Association. Project Alcanza is a distance learning program funded
CCLC | UMOS Educational Programs through a grant from the United States Department of Education's Learning
Anytime, Anywhere Partnership. Alcanza provides distance education
opportunities to migrant and seasonal farmworker families traveling to
Wisconsin, mainly from Texas and Mexico, to work in agriculture.
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Children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers face many educational obstacles,
including frequent disruption of school attendance. Migrant families often
leave their home states in the spring, before the school year ends, and do not
return to their home states until ate in the year. Some of these families
remain in Wisconsin through November and December, to harvest Christmas trees.
As a result, children of these families often miss the ending of one school
year and the beginning of the following year.
According to The National Agricultural Workers Survey, 1997-98, published March
2000, only 15 percent of migrant workers had completed 12 years of schooling or
more. The median highest grade completed was the 6th grade. Twenty percent of
migrant workers had completed less than 3 years of schooling. In addition,
Spanish was the predominant language for 84% of migrant farmworkers.
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Through Alcanza, migrant families have the opportunity to improve their English
language proficiency, study to obtain a G.E.D. or H.S.E.D., improve their
computer skills, and otherwise advance their educations. Migrant children have
the opportunity to continue their high school courses via distance education,
earning credits that allow them to eventually graduate from high school in
either Texas or Wisconsin. Distance education is offered in computer labs
situated in locations convenient to the migrant families. Labs are located in
migrant farmworker housing facilities and in canneries that employ migrants
during the agricultural season. Staff is available to provide one-on-one
assistance with the computers and the educational software. Migrant children
may also participate in day camps and field trips offered by the University of
Wisconsin campuses located in Steven's Point and LaCrosse, Wisconsin.
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