West Hills District gets $425 per year grant for Migrant Program

 The five-year College Assistant Migrant Program (CAMP) grant will go toward identifying, enrolling and assisting 45 migrant students each year to complete their first academic year of college and continue with their postsecondary education.

The CAMP grant will provide a total of $2,125,000 over the next five years, funding that will go toward covering first-year tuition, fees and books as well as substantial tutoring, advising, counseling, and enrichment opportunities to ensure academic success for eligible students district-wide.

“This is great news for our district,” said Dr. Frank Gornick, WHCCD Chancellor. “With this grant our outreach will be extended to many more migrant workers and their families and it is the perfect companion to our other grants.” 

 In 2015, WHCCD was awarded the High School Equivalency Program (HEP) grant, a five year award from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Migrant Education to assist seasonal and migrant farmworkers and their immediate family members in achieving their high school equivalency diploma. 

"This is a tremendous opportunity for our current HEP students,” said Javier Cazares, the current HEP Coordinator. “CAMP will help ease the transition from High School Equivalency to full time WHCCD college student."

WHCCD was the only college in California to receive a new CAMP award for 2016. CAMP assists students who are migratory or seasonal farm workers or children of such workers to achieve an education.

 This is the third time WHCCD has received a CAMP grant for a five year funding cycle.