Montana Title I Part C MEP –Ready4K Program

The Montana Title I Part C Migrant Education Program (MEP) acquired the Ready4K Trauma Informed Programming to meet the needs of eligible migrant families during the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2020 summer programs, and continuing through the 2020-21 performance period, MT MEP recruitment and outreach staff have collected, and continue to collect, pertinent data from individual families at the time of intake and during the on-going needs assessment process to populate the Ready4K texting platform.

Eligible families with children birth through 4th grade receive relevant information via text in five particular areas: Social and Emotional Learning, Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development, Social Connections, and Parental Resilience, in addition to various other resources to support their needs each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This information can be sent in English or Spanish, and one cell phone number can support up to three children, at three different levels.

As participants in the Ready4K program, MEP staff also have the ability to send custom messages based on particular aspects of the MEP projects, such as reminders, dates for summer school, meetings, and parental engagement activities. If there is a need to survey our families, we are also able to develop our own surveys and send them out via text. Staff have collected data through this programming that helps us to better understand and meet the needs of our families, as well as other state and CIG requirements.

MEP staff have uploaded information regarding pertinent local community and state resources into the delivery system, while the Ready4K platform itself provides information about the availability of national resources. These are pushed out to families on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so that the resources are at their fingertips. The MT MEP staff regards this program as an important benefit to our families during these particularly challenging times. In turn, the families have reported feeling more connected and informed.