LOXLEY — Twelve students crossed the stage to graduate from pre-K to kindergarten at the East Coast Migrant Head Start project graduation ceremony on July 27.

The program, which has been in operation as a nonprofit for over 30 years through a grant to the Leadership of Christian Women, focuses on preparing children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers for success by providing early-childhood education services to children and families.

CEO Maria Garza is a former migrant farmworker and high school dropout. In Loxley, Laura Conway leads the Baldwin-based educational campus.

"Our comprehensive curriculum for all age groups is enhanced by parent input and culturally and linguistically supplemental resources which outline developmentally appropriate strategies for dual language learners," according to their mission statement.

Under the leadership of Sister Geraldine O'Brien, Head Start centers were opened along the east coast and mid-west of the United States to ensure continuity of services as families migrated to work in agriculture.

Today, ECMHSP operates at 48 educational centers and serves nearly 3,000 children annually, with locations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington D.C.

In addition to providing Head Start services, the project also serves children with disabilities, designs nutrition services for participants, take children to routine medical appointments, provides safe transportation to students, families and staff in the program and provides support for parent-child relationships.