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Harvest season in the Sacramento Valley doesn’t wait for anyone.
When the peaches are ready in Yuba County, or the processing lines at a local cannery are running at full capacity, agricultural workers don’t get the luxury of a 9-to-5 schedule. They work when the work is there — early mornings, long shifts, sometimes six days a week. The crops and the contracts set the hours.
This reality shapes everything about E Center’s Migrant Head Start program. We don’t ask farmworker families to fit their lives into a standard school schedule. We build our program around theirs.
What Makes Migrant Head Start Different
Most early childhood programs operate on a school-day schedule: 6 to 8 hours, roughly following the academic calendar. That works for families in many circumstances. It doesn’t work for a parent who starts a field shift at 6am and won’t be done until the sun sets.
E Center’s Migrant and Seasonal Head Start program is federally designed and locally operated to address exactly this gap:
Extended daily hours: Up to 12 hours per day, five days per week during harvest season. Children can arrive early in the morning and stay until the evening — for as long as parents need to complete a full agricultural shift.
Harvest-season calendar: Our program calendar is synchronized with the agricultural cycle in Yuba, Sutter, and Butte Counties, not the traditional September-through-June school year. We open when the harvest season demands it.
Infant and toddler inclusion: E Center’s Migrant Head Start serves children from 4 weeks of age through 5 years old. This is critical for families with infants — standard Head Start and most preschool programs don’t serve children under 3. We do.
Both center-based and home-based options: Depending on a family’s location and needs, care can be provided in one of our classrooms or through a Family Child Care Home — a licensed home-based provider who is part of E Center’s network.
A Day in E Center’s Migrant Head Start Classroom
The structure of a Migrant Head Start day looks different from a regular preschool day — by design.
Children who arrive early join a warm, nurturing environment with trained caregivers. For infants and toddlers, the morning begins with individualized care routines: feeding, sensory play, supported tummy time, and the kind of responsive, attentive interaction that research shows is most important for brain development in the earliest months and years.
As the day progresses, preschool-age children move through a structured curriculum that builds kindergarten-readiness skills — language development, early literacy, math concepts, social-emotional skills, and creative expression. The curriculum is play-based and developmentally appropriate, consistent with the same high-quality standards as E Center’s regular Head Start classrooms.
Meals are provided throughout the day: breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack at minimum, with additional meals as warranted by extended hours. All meals meet federal nutritional standards. For many children of farmworker families, the consistent, nutritious meals at our program are a meaningful part of their daily nutrition.
Toward the end of the day, as shifts end and parents return, children wind down with quieter activities. The transition back to family at pickup is handled carefully by our staff — children who have been in care for a long day need a calm, supportive close.
The Families We Serve
The families in E Center’s Migrant Head Start program represent the diversity of the Sacramento Valley’s agricultural workforce.
Many are long-time residents of Yuba and Sutter Counties whose families have worked in California agriculture for generations. Others have moved more recently to the area. A significant portion of our Migrant Head Start families are Spanish-speaking, and our program reflects this: bilingual staff, Spanish-language family communications, and a classroom environment where dual-language learners feel seen and supported.
The agricultural work itself varies. Some families work in the fields — thinning, picking, sorting crops that define the Yuba-Sutter landscape. Others work in the canning and packing plants around Yuba City that process the valley’s harvest for distribution. The 2024 federal update to Migrant and Seasonal Head Start eligibility expanded access to families in agricultural processing as well as fieldwork, recognizing that the entire agricultural supply chain — not just the fields — is part of the farmworker economy.
What E Center Provides Beyond Childcare
Migrant Head Start is not just childcare extended to longer hours. It’s a comprehensive early childhood program that addresses the full range of a child’s developmental needs:
Health services: Every enrolled child receives medical, dental, vision, and hearing screenings within 45 days of enrollment. Screenings are free. When screenings identify concerns, E Center’s Family Services staff help connect families with appropriate care — navigating systems that can be difficult to access without support.
Family Services: Each family is assigned a Family Services worker who meets with them regularly. Family Services workers help identify needs, set family goals, connect families with community resources (housing, food assistance, legal aid), and navigate the bureaucratic complexity that low-income families in agricultural work often face.
Nutrition: Free meals every day, meeting CACFP nutritional standards. For families working long agricultural shifts on uncertain budgets, knowing that their child is eating well during the day is not a small thing.
Parent engagement: Migrant Head Start families are invited into the life of the program — through parent meetings, volunteering in classrooms, and participation in program governance. For families who may feel disconnected from institutional systems, this engagement builds relationships and community.
Transportation: At select locations, transportation assistance is available for families who need it.
Bilingual and Bicultural by Design
Language access is not an afterthought in E Center’s Migrant Head Start program — it’s a design principle.
Many families in agricultural work are Spanish-dominant or bilingual. Children in these families are dual-language learners — developing language in both Spanish and English simultaneously. Research is clear that supporting a child’s home language does not slow English acquisition; it supports it. Children who maintain strong home language skills develop stronger cognitive flexibility and ultimately stronger literacy in both languages.
E Center’s Migrant Head Start classrooms include bilingual teachers and instructional aides. Family communications, enrollment materials, and parent meetings are conducted in Spanish as needed. The program is designed so that families can fully participate regardless of English proficiency.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does E Center’s Migrant Head Start program operate? The program operates during harvest season in Yuba, Sutter, and Butte Counties. Specific start and end dates vary with the agricultural calendar. Contact E Center at (866) 417-4255 for the current program schedule.
Can my child attend Migrant Head Start even if we don’t move between locations? Yes. The “seasonal” component of Migrant and Seasonal Head Start covers families who stay in one location but work in seasonal agriculture. If your family’s primary income comes from agricultural work in the Yuba-Sutter region, contact us to discuss eligibility.
Is E Center’s Migrant Head Start really free? Yes. Like all Head Start programs, Migrant and Seasonal Head Start is federally funded and provided at no cost to eligible families. There are no tuition fees, registration fees, or meal costs.
Does E Center ask about immigration status during enrollment? No. E Center does not ask about or require documentation of immigration status as part of the enrollment process for any of our programs, including Migrant Head Start.
Secure Your Child’s Spot Before Harvest Season
Space in E Center’s Migrant Head Start program is limited. Families who connect with us before the season begins are in the best position to secure enrollment.
???? Apply online at ecenter.org — submitting an application is the first step; our team will reach out to guide you through the enrollment process ???? Call (866) 417-4255 — for questions about eligibility, the application, or what to expect after you apply
E Center does not ask about immigration status. Our Migrant Head Start program is open to all eligible farmworker families in Yuba, Sutter, and Butte Counties.
E Center is the Head Start and Early Head Start provider for Yuba and Sutter Counties, serving families since 1966. Our Migrant and Seasonal Head Start program reflects our commitment to every family in our agricultural community.
