Cisco Networking
Academy Program is a Success
The United States government funds academic and social programs
for the children of migrant agriculture workers. The slogan
for the program is "Harvest of Hope." To qualify for
the program, parents of these children must have moved at least
once in the last three years in search of agriculture work.
When parents come to work at the local tomato processing plant
they will often bring their families. Work age members of the
family work at the plant, while the younger students attend
school. During the time the children are in the area schools,
the Migrant Program, funded by a government grant, provides
migrant students with tutoring and mentoring.
This year, with the cooperation of Susana Amstutz, Migrant
Program Coordinator, and Jody Walker, Academy Instructor at
South Adams High School in Berne, Indiana, the migrant program
has had the opportunity to offer the Cisco Networking Academy
Program to migrant students. One of the students that has
taken advantage of this opportunity has found a foundation
for her future career plans. The Cisco Networking class offers
students the skills and education needed to prepare them for
the future and the technology they will work with, regardless
of their chosen professions.
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Maria De La Luz Cisneros, a junior, spends a majority of her
year in Brownsville, Texas where she attends Lopez High School.
"In the school that I go to back home in Brownsville you
have to take a computer class in order to graduate from high
school. When Susana, my teacher told me about the computer class
called Cisco and asked if I would be interested in taking it,
I told her well, if it's a computer class, and I have to take
one, I'll go for it. And I did." Maria is able to transfer
the Networking Academy credits from South Adams High School
to her home high school in Brownsville, Texas to meet her computer
class requirement for graduation.
Maria's father works part of the time in agriculture and
the rest of the year in a family-owned restaurant in Matamoros,
Mexico. Neither of Maria's parents have more than an eighth
grade education. The family travels together for the agricultural
work season, then will return to Brownsville at season's end.
While working at the local processing plant, the family of
six lives in the Red-Gold migrant camp in Geneva, Indiana.
This is a grouping of mobile homes that are on the property
of the tomato cannery.
This year during the two months that Maria has been in Indiana,
she has been able to complete the first two semesters of the
four-semester CCNA curriculum. Maria has had to dedicate extra
hours and work very diligently to complete the two semesters
in the six weeks she has been here.
"It is a pleasure to have Maria in class. She is a very
intelligent young lady who has an internal drive to succeed
in this program. She seems to enjoy the lab activities, such
as terminating copper and fiber cables," says Mrs. Walker.
"As her teacher, I will truly miss her. I feel a bond
with Maria after spending quality time with her. I feel very
proud to be the instructor that helped provide her with the
knowledge and skills from this program."
Maria likes to travel and hopes to work with U.S. Customs
when she begins her career. Maria feels that having the Cisco
background and the resulting skills will be beneficial to
her future. "In the Cisco program, I've learned a lot
of different kinds of things that I didn't know about computers
and networking systems. Thanks to Mrs. Walker's help I've
been able to learn many things that I didn't imagine I would
be able to know. I've learned about the OSI model's seven
layers, hex, binary, RAM, IP protocol, routers, routing, and
many other things."
When South Adams High School started this school year, the
migrant students enrolled in PASS courses, which are independent
study courses directed by the Migrant Program Coordinator.
A typical migrant student takes two courses during their stay
at South Adams. Maria took two courses and added the Cisco
course as a third. Maria not only accepted the challenge of
this curriculum, she is the top student in the Cisco class.
"I have learned a lot about the Cisco courses myself
from listening to Maria," says Susana Amstutz. "She
is so excited about the materials and labs, that it is impossible
not to be excited for her."
The Cisco Networking Academy Program works well for students
who start their coursework in one school and then move to
another. In the school district that Maria will be returning
to in Texas, there are two high schools that offer the curriculum.
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