For Speakers of
Languages Other Than English
It is the Bellingham School District's
intent and desire to provide an
interpreter for a parent who speaks
a language other than English.
The District makes several efforts
to contact and contract with individuals
who can interpret. At times the
District may have been unable to
identify and contract a person
to interpret a specific language.
In this instance it is the teacher's
responsibility to invite the parent
and to communicate by speaking
slowly in English, providing gestures
and props that may increase communication.
Access
A list of approved interpreters/translators
is published at the beginning of
each school year. This list, organized
by language groups, contains the
name, phone number, and expertise
(verbal translation, written translation,
special education experience) of
the individuals who have been contracted
by the Bellingham School District
to work as interpreters.
A staff member requesting an interpreter
or translation services does so
by contacting their site or program
administrator. The administrator
makes a decision regarding the
level of responsibility and notifies
the school site or program secretary
that an interpreter is needed.
The school secretary e-mails the
department that will be paying
for the interpreter and then calls
the interpreter to make the arrangements.
Interpreters/translators fill
out time-summary forms at the school
office with the date, time, and
purpose of their work. The school
secretary will enter a district
assigned account code and submit
the time summary for the administrator’s
signature. The secretary will then
send the form to payroll.
Emergencies: In the event of an
emergency, school personnel are
encouraged to call an interpreter
without following all of the above
procedures.
School and Program Responsibility
When communicating important information
to parents who speak a language
other than English, school and
program staff will attach a statement
in two or three dominate languages
other than English that communicates
in those languages that the document
contains important information.
These statements are available
from TransACT, a translation service
found on the District website under
Staff Resources. Important information
is that which is legally required
to be sent to parents.
Written communication not available
from TransACT includes:
- Parent-teacher dialogue regarding
academic or behavior issues
- Parent-specialist dialogue
regarding medical, safety or
service issues
- Parent-school communication
related to calendar, schedule,
bus, or lunch information
- Parent-school communication
related to specific events or
activities
The use of an interpreter or a
translator to communicate with
parents is necessary when translations
from TransACT are not suited for
the need.
The Interpreter Budget Guide outlines
the appropriate uses and codes
for oral interpretation. The initiating
school or program pays interpreting
that is not part of a district-wide
effort. Individual school sites
pay for the translation of written
documents published by the school.
Federal
and Special Programs Communication:
Highly Capable
Learner, Indian Education, Title
I and ELL Programs, which may provide
supplementary educational services
to non-English speaking students,
arrange for specific program related
communications. Interpreters and/or
translators submit time summaries
for pre-approved, program specific
communications to the program office.
Program specific communication
is defined as spoken or written
information about students’ participation
in the program - information that
would not be communicated to the
students/parents if they were not
receiving supplementary services
i.e. program description, parent
permission for program participation
or exemption and information about
parent literacy activities supported
by the program.
Special Education:
Follow the process for
accessing an interpreter as stated
in paragraph two under Access.
Student Services:
Follow the process for
accessing an interpreter as stated
in paragraph two under Access.
District Responsibility
The Bellingham School District
will make reasonable effort to:
- Make available district forms
(lunch, registration, fieldtrip)
in languages other than English
- Annually subscribe to a translation
service
- Communicate with district staff
about the rights of parents who
speak a language other than English
- Train district staff in the
use of TransACT
|
