Tapping Skills Early : Education: A Head Start center in Santa Paula uses entertaining activities to prepare the children of low-income migrant farm workers for the challenges of elementary school.

With a ladle in one hand and a serving bowl in the other, 4-year-old Vanessa Jacinto carefully scooped Jell-O into a plastic cup and offered it to a woman sitting at a table.

“Thank you,” the woman said warmly, and Vanessa smiled.

The motor skills involved in the simple task of serving food are part of the preschool development program for Vanessa and 22 other migrant children at the federally funded TAP Santa Paula Child Development Center.

The center is administered by Target Area Programs for Child Development, a private, nonprofit group funded by Head Start and based in Bakersfield.

The center--the only migrant Head Start program in Ventura County--is meant to prepare the children of low-income migrant farm workers for the challenges of elementary school, said Arlene Jones, TAP coordinator.

The serving exercises, for example, are more than just a lesson in table manners, she said. They improve children’s ability to grip and move objects comfortably--a crucial part of elementary school.

“These skills help them when they enter school to learn to read and write,” she said. “There is a practical value here too. Parents are amazed when the kids come home.”

The children, many of them Spanish-speaking, also pick up English through name games, follow-the-leader and other activities. Both languages are stressed, and the center staff is mindful of the children’s heritage, Jones said.

Parents, nearly all of whom live in Santa Paula, say they are grateful for the center and the opportunities that it offers their children.

Rosa Maria Sandoval, whose husband works in strawberry fields in the county, recently enrolled her 4-year-old son, Javier, at the center.

“I want him to have the preschool experience and learn how to deal with other children, table etiquette, and other things I am unable to teach him,” the 24-year-old mother of two said through a translator.

Maria Carrillo, 33, has had three sons go through the center. Carrillo, who works in a Santa Paula avocado processing plant, said her sons have since excelled in elementary school. They have won certificates for academic achievement, she said proudly.

“They have had a big advantage. They knew their names, their colors,” she said through a translator. “They learned at this early age the importance of education.”

Carrillo said she envisions similar success for her two daughters, Annalee and Marily, who are now students at the center.

The center, which recently reopened after being closed for 11 months, has moved to a portable building on Santa Paula and 11th streets. For 10 years, the center had rented classroom space from the Santa Paula Elementary School District.

In the large, open classroom there is a seemingly endless array of possible activities. Children can piece together brontosaurus puzzles, stack blocks, cuddle up to multiethnic dolls, scurry in the play kitchen, paste crepe paper collages, and look through brightly colored picture books.

The center, however, is not just about fun and games, said center manager Nancy Herrera, who oversees the children. The activities, while meant to be entertaining, are valuable social and educational tools, she said.

The children are at the center weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Jones said. Unlike other Head Start programs, which run from September to June on a half-day schedule, the center is open year-round and for the full workday, she said.

“The program is designed to meet the needs of parents working in the fields, particularly around the spring and summer crop-picking months,” Jones said.

The school is convenient for parents in other ways. It is near a low-income housing complex that is home to many migrant families, Herrera said. The center is also publicized through announcements on a local Spanish-language radio station and posters in Latino business communities.

Santa Paula is home to about 9% of the county’s farm-worker population, with 1,308 people concentrated in 574 households, according to 1980 census statistics. Ninety percent of the households are classified as low- to very low-income, according to a recent city report.

Parents also find new things to learn at the center, which holds monthly meetings with speakers from local health and social services agencies. Meetings are conducted in Spanish and English on topics that include nutrition, dental care, fire safety, housing and emergency assistance. Low-cost clinics for medical care and programs for pregnant mothers are also offered.

“We focus on opening up a lot of resources in the community,” Herrera said. “A lot of times parents are at a disadvantage because they don’t know.” This is true, said Juana Rios, 32, whose son, Jorge Luis, has been at the center two years.

“I learned about health and child car safety and car seats,” Rios said through a translator. She said she has also used bilingual services and a low-cost clinic in Saticoy.

To be eligible, parents must verify their annual income to show that they meet federal low-income requirements, Jones said. They must also leave the county at least once overnight during the year to perform agricultural work. There are no legal residency or citizenship requirements, she said.

Ventura County has four state-funded migrant preschool programs that serve about 600 children, said Joe Mendoza, regional director of migrant education for Ventura County. The programs are available in the Santa Paula, Fillmore, Moorpark and Oxnard school districts, he said.

Fourteen school districts also have a federally funded migrant education program for children in kindergarten through 12th grades. The program serves the county’s 6,500 migrant children, he said.