Center Director Reflects on Three-plus Decades Career at East Coast Migrant Head Start Project
Congratulations to Irene Figueroa on her retirement from the East Coast Migrant Head Start Project (ECMHSP) on June 14. Figueroa has worked at ECMHSP for more than 35 years, starting her career journey as an assistant cook and working her way up to center director.
Figueroa credits local agencies for allowing the ECMHSP to provide support to the families and children whom they serve. She said: “The Institute of Excellence at Palm Beach State College has impacted the East Coast Migrant Head Start Project by giving us the ability to educate ourselves with support from the SEEK scholarship, which enables us to better serve our families and children. The early childhood education classes helped our teachers become better teachers, and the career advisors helped us to advance ourselves professionally.”
Irene Figueroa, former director of the
East Coast Migrant Head Start Project
Figueroa added: “The Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County Strong Minds Network has helped us purchase materials needed to work with our children. The coaches that were sent to our center gave us suggestions on how to set up our classrooms and how teachers should appropriately interact with children. All of these resources have equipped our teachers with the knowledge and skills to provide excellent care to the children in our center.”
The East Coast Migrant Head Start Project operates 38 centers that provide services to migrant farmworkers and their children, serving over 3,000 children annually. To learn more about the ECMHSP, visit www.ecmhsp.org.
