Lodi Teacher Connecting With Migrant Students Through Google Classroom
LODI (CBS13) — A school teacher in Lodi is developing a new way to bring the classroom to her migrant students.
The teacher is using Google Classroom to upload classwork to help migrant students keep up with the rest of the class.
Lodi has a large migrant community, and during slow winter months, workers often bring their families back to Mexico.
"I leave with him for three or four months," said Esteban Aguilar, Jr.
Aguilar spends his school year moving between Mexico and Lodi.
He's the son of a migrant worker, who doesn't work during the rainy season.
"We leave in November, and we come back like in April," Aguilar said.
Aguilar says it's been hard for him to keep up with classwork since the first grade, until now.
Aguilar's seventh-grade English language development teacher found a new way to help him, and other migrant students stay ahead.
"It was a last minute thought I didn't think would really have an effect," said Madeline Britt.
Last November, Britt created a Google Classroom for her 27 migrant students at Morada Middle School.
"Any Google app you can sync with your classroom and it'll make their own copy, they can answer questions and complete assignments," Britt added.
Britt says the program serves as a bridge, connecting students from Mexico to their classroom in Lodi.
"We do have a high migrant population here in Lodi and Stockton, so giving them the opportunity to education while they are in Mexico, this gives them many opportunities to learn and have the self-accountability," added Britt.
Britt says the program is a hit, and it's improving migrant students' test scores, including Aguilar's.
"It makes me feel like I'm learning more than the past years because I'm still learning and doing stuff that they're doing here," Aguilar said, referring to his classmates.
Aguilar's father says while he'd like to keep his son in California year round, it's just too expensive for a farmworker's wage.
His father says it's a sacrifice he hopes will reap a big reward.
"At least get a better job than me, that's what I want for them, not for me, just for them, get a better life."
Britt says the program is gaining traction at Morada Middle. Other teachers are now planning to use Google Classroom with their students.