On the Ground in New Mexico

Katrina Montaño-White is based in the Southwestern part of the United States. Below she shares her thoughts on her work with preschool teachers, children, and their families.

“I’m a member of a team that provides site training and technical assistance to migrant and seasonal Head Start programs across the United States. Although I live in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, I cover a nine-state area in the Southwest. One week I’ll be in Lubbock—in the Texas Panhandle—providing information on nutrition. The following week, I’ll be in Arkansas, providing training to curriculum specialists. Then I may head to Louisiana to do classroom observation and give feedback to teachers.

Some of these programs are year-round, some are short term. I have to be flexible to meet their schedules. I suppose you could say I have different harvest seasons, just like the people we serve.

I’m not only working to help teachers, but I’m also working to help children and their families. The one thing I love about my job is the relationships I’ve formed. Without these relationships, I couldn’t open doors. But because of those bonds, I go into the centers, hug parents and children, and say to myself, ‘This is what I’m meant to be doing.’ That’s where the heart and soul of our work is … in the centers, not in the office.”

Katrina Montaño-White is the grantee program support specialist at the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Technical Assistance Office.

photo: Mills Child Development Center

Improving the Skills and Credentials of Migrant, Seasonal and American Indian/Alaska Native Head Start Teachers: Building from Within