Students produce three editions of The Migrant Voice this year

First edition for 2026 For a decade, elementary school students served by the Migrant Education Program (MEP) have covered local people and events for The Migrant Voice. Envisioned as an English language development tool, the Migrant Journalism Project and The Migrant Voice newspaper were a partnership with Loyola Marymount University’s Center for Equity for English Learners, which designed the curriculum and conducted the trainings for the Tulare County teachers who lead it.

This year, migrant students in several Tulare and Kings county school districts produced three editions of The Migrant Voice. The first edition is published online at https://tcoe.org/migranted/MigrantVoice and features articles by students at Kings River Union School, Pleasant View School, Stone Corral School, and Sundale Union School. The edition features 11 articles on local agricultural businesses and processes.

The second and third editions are being printed this month with a variety of articles from students attending Jefferson Elementary School (Dinuba), Kennedey Elementary School (Dinuba), and Jefferson Academy (Hanford). Students covered a STEAM conference, student activities, and family. Once these editions are completed, an electronic version will be added to the webpage listed above.

Through the process of interviewing people, migrant students gain confidence in their abilities to research, speak, write, and communicate their stories. For more information about the journalism project, contact Shantall Porchia at shantallp@tcoe.org.

Photo above:

~ The first edition of The Migrant Voice is written by students at Kings River Union School, Pleasant View School, Stone Corral School, and Sundale Union School.

Around the County

Three Tulare County teams have big wins in softball and baseball postseasons

Woodlake High softball

The Tigers of Woodlake High School made history with a 14-4 win over Grossmont (El Cajon) in the CIF Southern California (SoCal) Division IV Championship. Playing at home this past Saturday, Woodlake only needed five innings to defeat Grossmont.

This is Woodlake’s second-straight SoCal Division IV title, which they advanced to after winning their third-straight CIF Central Section Championships. The team finished the season with a record of 31-4 and went undefeated in East Sequoia League play to win another league title.

To read more about Woodlake’s back-to-back regional championship, visit https://thesungazette.com/article/news/2026/06/08/softball-tigers-repeat-as-socal-champions.

Rangers win Section

Redwood High School (Visalia) softball made history this season with a 1-0 victory over Garces Memorial (Bakersfield) for the CIF Central Section Division II Championship. The championship is the program’s first-ever section title.

Redwood advanced to the SoCal Division II championships but lost 4-3 in the semifinal round to the future champions, Riverside Prep (Oro Grande).

Central Valley Christian

In baseball, Central Valley Christian (Visalia) also won its first-ever section title with a 12-2 win over Justin Garza (Fresno) in the CIF Central Section Division III championship. The team then advanced to the SoCal Division IV championship tournament, where they lost 6-0 in the semifinals to eventual Div. IV runner-up North (Torrance).

Photos above:

~ Woodlake High School softball (top) won its second-straight CIF Southern California Division IV Championship on Saturday. Photo from fresnobee.com

~ Redwood High School softball (middle) and Central Valley Christian baseball (bottom) won their program's first-ever CIF Central Section Championships this postseason. Photos from CIF Central Section Facebook

Editor: Robert Herman, Communications Director
Contributors: Nayirah Dosu, Jennifer Fisher, Jaime Burnitzki, Shantall Porchia, Heriberto Treviño

To receive the News Gallery Week, sign up using the form, or contact Jennifer Fisher at jenniferf@tcoe.org or 559-733-6172.