Bridging the opportunity gap through language
Dallas ISD has one of the largest populations of families whose home language is not English, and Translation Services interpreters and translators are there to bridge the language gap between home and school.
“We are the largest program in the state of Texas,” said Director Adriana Saucedo. The main task of the department’s team members is to provide interpretation services during special education meetings with parents, workshops, annual individual student meetings, consent meetings, and evaluations. Interpreters also assist families with providing the information during general parent meetings, workshops, and events in a language they understand.
International Translation Day on Sept. 30 recognizes the task translators and interpreters perform in making communication and understanding possible among many cultures and people. And that task is even more crucial in Dallas ISD where about 22,000 parents benefitted from the services last school year, Saucedo said.
“This means that the parents who don’t speak English are on equal footing, and the more than 70,000 students whose families speak other languages are not left in the dark,” she said. “If a parent is not able to understand the information that the school is providing, the student is affected because they might miss opportunities or resources. We make sure that they have access to that information.”
Translation Services provided interpretation services in more than 6,350 meetings last year. The department also translated almost 1.2 million words in more than 7,000 pages of text whether in flyers, letters to parents, documents, handbooks, or other materials that were shared with the community.
The department also has an Interpreter Hotline through which they provided interpretation services on almost 13,400 calls last year. The hotline is used by nurses, teachers, principals, counselors and other school team members for more immediate communication with parents. They are connected via a conference call with the interpreter, who then relays the information in the respective language.
Saucedo knows first hand what a difference it can make for parents to have access to information about educational opportunities for their children. A graduate of Booker T. Washington High School for the Visual and Performing Arts, she had to navigate the magnet program application process on her own, even in elementary school, because her mother, a Spanish speaker, did not have access to the necessary information.
“My mom supported me and would have taken some of that responsibility off of me if she had been informed of it in her language,” she said. “Fortunately, we have come a long way in reducing the opportunity gap. In the hierarchy of needs, having a roof over your head, clothing, food to eat, safety are all essential, but language is too, especially when communication opens doors for these students.”
