Redlands Christian Migrant Association

Child care - subsidizedsee schedule ochild carefrom three modest child-care centers with 75 children in 1965, rcma today serves nearly 5,361 children of Migrant farm workers and rural, low-income families in 63 centers, 2 charter schools and 6 child care partners throughout florida.children in our centers range from 6 weeks to 12 years old. Rcma's inclusion of children with disabilities, beginning with infants and toddlers, has been recognized as a model within florida.rcma, the largest non-profit provider of child-care services in Florida, now offers preschool services in 21 rural communities. Like other children rcma serves, most of those enrolled speak english as a second language, if at all. With a mission of hiring staff and teachers from the communities served, rcma already employs a majority of bilingual staffers. Many of our employees are former Migrant farm workers who acquired their child development credentials, family development credentials, associate's degrees or bachelor's degrees after joining rcma.serving a large Migrant population, plus other year-round farm and low-income families, rcma offers the 540-hour vpk program option during the academic year. This way, even though some children arrive late and leave early, they still receive the required coursework, which is essential to their success later in kindergarten and elementary school. We have strong partnerships with head start, Florida's office of early learning, local early learning coalitions, the mexican consulates in orlando and miami, Florida agriculture, community-based organizations and school districts. More than half of rcma's childcare centers have been nationally accredited, reflecting standards and achievements that exceed state licensing requirements.

Charter schoolssee schedule ocharter schoolsrcma operates two charter schools (public schools of choice), the immokalee community academy in eastern collier county and the wimauma community academy in southeastern hillsborough county, which provide a unique opportunity for rcma to extend its positive impact on children. The schools provide a seamless transition for children as they progress from rcma's early childhood and pre-kindergarten programs into elementary school and middle school in hillsborough and collier counties. Test results confirm that the longer students remain with rcma, the better they perform in school. When one considers that many of our students are tested in their second language, their accomplishments are quite impressive.the academic focus is the improvement of language and math using a thematic and integrative approach, which immerses students in an enriched environment that reflects the complexities of life. The results include improved language, academics and literacy, increased self-esteem and desirable social skills. The wimauma community academy (kindergarten through fifth) and the immokalee community academy (kindergarten through sixth grade) were originally chartered in 2000. Wimauma academy and leadership academy schools consolidated in 2020 and a 10 charter year was renewed to 2030. Immokalee community academy is renewing its charter in 2021 and adding 7th & 8th grade.

Head startsee schedule ohead starthead start, early head start and Migrant head start are comprehensive child-development programs that serve pregnant women, children from birth to age 5 and their families. The programs strive to increase the school readiness of young children in low-income families.key to the success of rcma in preparing young children for public school is its mission to hire staff and teachers from the communities served. Most of our staff is bilingual, and many are former Migrant farm workers, including our executive director and director of farmworker advocacy. Head start nationally evolved from a task force recommendation in 1964 for the development of a federally sponsored preschool program to meet the needs of disadvantaged children, head start now offers programs geared for children 3 to 5 years old. Early head start provides programs for infants and toddlers, newborns to 3 years.responding to the unique season needs of Migrant farm workers, Migrant and seasonal head start was created in 1969 and serves newborns to 5 year olds. Head start is a program within the administration on children, youth and families in the u.s. department of health and human services, which awards grants to rcma to provide these services.

Food service program - to provide basic food and nutrition for all children served in our centers.immigration assistance program over 80% of the families rcma serves are employed in the agricultural sector. A significant percentage of those families migrate and the majority are foreign-born. All of our families are significantly impacted by immigration policy and enforcement. Rcma has developed a multi-faceted immigration support program that builds on existing programs and services. Rcma's immigration program includes leadership training and development, advocacy, immigration support services and public education campaigns.

Other programs:community learning centersrcma's community learning centers strive to bring free or affordable quality education to rural low-income communities using technology and caring, culturally sensitive teachers and tutors.through community learning centers, rcma provides basic education services to adults who have not completed their basic education studies, either in u.s. schools or in mexico. The community learning centers provide three levels of studies -- literacy (basic reading and writing), primary (elementary) and secondary (middle school) - and accredits students according to the standards set by the ministry of public education in mexico. Students also can earn their Florida general equivalency diploma.out of school servicesrcma provides out of school services to approximately 500 school age children. These services are provided in several counties in partnership with the hillsborough county school district, the homestead housing authority and rcma charter schools. The primary components of the services provided include, tutoring, homework help, leadership development and recreational activities. Teen parent programwhen a teenager becomes pregnant, both she and her baby face even greater challenges at home and school. Key goals of rcma's teen parent program are to educate and support the teen mothers to be and promote job skills that will help them achieve financial independence. Rcma staff also works closely with collaborating agencies to assure pregnant teens receive prenatal and post-partum services, and provides quality child care for newborns of high school students.