This digest explores several key factors that contribute to the academic persistence and achievement of migrant high school students. The discussion draws from research on one California high school and from the literature on promoting educational success for working-class minority youth. National studies have estimated that only about half of migrant students receive a high school diploma. In contrast, 77 percent of the migrant students who entered the study school ("Hillside") in 1998 graduated in 2002. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to follow the school performance from 9th through 12th grade of all 160 migrant students in the class of 2002. Most of these students were from Mexican-origin families, lived in impoverished conditions, had parents with limited education and English proficiency, and were behind academically when they entered Hillside. Findings suggest that these students' success was due largely to conditions created by Migrant Education Program (MEP) staff. MEP staff provided a wide array of academic support services, such as academic guidance, tutoring, supplemental instruction, access to computers, and college counseling. Just as important, MEP staff created a sense of belonging and community for migrant students, helped students develop supportive relationships with school staff and other students, reached out to encourage parent participation, and supported a migrant student association that asserted a positive Mexican presence in the wider school community. (SV)