The State Department of Education has cut its director of migrant education services, the Idaho Press reported Monday.
Christina Nava’s last day on the job was Friday. Nava had directed the department’s English language learner and migrant education department, and served as the department’s Hispanic liaison, Nicole Foy of the Idaho Press reported.
The state has no plans to cut migrant education services, and will now house ELL and migrant education programs under its federal programs division, SDE spokeswoman Kris Rodine told the Idaho Press.
Idaho’s 4,600 migrant students lag behind their peers at several key academic mileposts, according to an October University of Idaho study.
Kindergarten through third-grade students lag behind on the Idaho Reading Indicator. From elementary school through high school, migrant students score lower on all phases of the Idaho Standards Achievement Test, the state’s online assessment aligned with Idaho Core Standards. Migrant students graduate from high school at a 59 percent rate, compared to Idaho’s overall graduation rate of 80 percent.
