Photos by Charles Ellis / Special to The Star Jose Luis Hernandez, left, and Laura Webster of Driscoll Strawberry Associates in Santa Cruz judge a debate at Ventura College.

Hueneme High School students Maria Ortiz, left, Maribel Gomez, and Mayra Herrera participate in the debate.

Nearly 800 students from across California, Texas and Arizona — mostly the children of migrant workers — gathered at Ventura College on Saturday to compete in a speech and debate tournament.

Ventura College hosted the Migrant Education Program event for the first time, opening the campus to students, parents, coaches and teachers.

Students toured the campus, making use of classrooms, the gym and the outdoor theater. It was a full day of activities: round-robin debates, speech competitions, films, workshops and even Folklorico dance lessons.

Transition to college

The federally funded migrant program, begun in 1965, provides educational services to families who move at least once every three years in search of seasonal agricultural jobs.

Among the goals are that the students learn English, graduate from high school, and enter college. The speech and debate tournament is organized to challenge and motivate them, said Joe Mendoza, director of special populations educational support for the Ventura County Office of Education.

Poverty and frequent moving may affect a child's outlook toward the future, Mendoza said. The program provides activities that will help them see the value of education.

Jose Luis Hernandez, 18, is the son of a migrant farmworker who won first place in last year's speech tournament and is now a first-year student at CSU Sacramento.

The Morro Bay High School graduate said he might not have gone to college without the help of Migrant Education Program tutors and counselors. They helped him with math and English homework and got him in touch with the College Assistance Migrant Program at CSU Sacramento.

The programs made for a smooth transition to college, Hernandez said, providing academic advice and help finding housing and scholarships.

Hernandez returned to Ventura to deliver a motivational speech to this year's competitors on Friday night and served as a debate judge on Saturday.

Hueneme High School Senior Mayra Herrera said her debate team improved as the tournament went on.

"The more opponents we faced, we got better and better," she said. "As we learn from the other teams, they learn from us. We all learned a lot."

Interest from sponsors

California has the largest migrant student population, with about 350,000 from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, Mendoza said.

He was encouraged by the tournament's growth and increased interest from community sponsors.

In the first tournament, six years ago, 15 students from three teams competed at Santa Paula High School. This year, almost 800 students representing 66 teams competed at Ventura College.

More than 1,000 people were expected to gather in the college's Athletic Event Center for the tournament's award ceremony Saturday night.

The event was hosted by the Ventura College Extended Opportunity Programs and Services Department and the Ventura County Office of Education Migrant Education Program.