The topic of interpreting and translating in school settings is one I am both familiar with and passionate about. I have spent most of my career as a public school bilingual teacher and a trainer of bilingual teacher candidates. Most of the parents I worked with spoke Spanish at home. These Spanish speaking parents needed assistance when communicating with school personnel, with monolingual English-speaking teachers, principals, psychologists, speech pathologists, office assistants and other school personnel. Existing laws require that schools inform parents or guardians about school programs and activities and the children’s progress using a language the families and guardians understand. Furthermore, educators such as teachers and administrators have often found themselves in positions where they could clearly determine there was a need for an interpreter or translator, yet didn’t know how to find one. All families and guardians who cannot fluently speak the language of a particular school district can benefit from the services of a translator or interpreter. Language assistance enables a meaningful exchange of information and ideas. In such cases, it is critically important to transmit messages accurately and professionally. Everyone present needs to understand the information being shared so they can make important decisions. An important term in the field of community interpreting is communicative autonomy, which refers to the capacity of all participants in an encounter to be responsible for, and in control of, their own communication (García Beyaert, 2015, p. 363). Without interpreters and translators in schools, achieving communicative autonomy and meaningful communication will be impossible for many I have often witnessed situations where English-speaking school personnel with limited knowledge of Spanish attempt to communicate with a monolingual Spanish-speaking parent. Sometimes older or younger siblings, or other relatives or friends, come to act as interpreters. Most often, however, that communication is not precise or accurate. Interpreters and translators are the critical link that make clear communication possible in a variety of educational settings. After working in elementary and middle schools, my involvement in bilingual education continued when I became coordinator of field placements at California State University, Monterey Bay. During my tenure as coordinator, I continued my quest to ensure that student teachers seeking a multiple subject or secondary credential in our program understood the need to have ongoing meaningful communication between school staff and parents who do not speak English through interpreters to reduce or eliminate language barriers. In the courses I taught for the Teacher Education Program, such as the “Pedagogy for Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students” course, I stressed the importance of keeping parents and guardians informed in a language they understood and preferred, typically their primary or native language. The services of a qualified interpreter make clear, direct communication possible. Such communication is required to be offered in many different school meetings and events. Ongoing communication also promotes parent participation. It is important for these parents to receive notices in their primary language indicating that interpreting services will be provided at the meetings they are invited to attend. Notices to alert families about important school activities and events, including parent-teacher conferences and meetings about special education or disciplinary procedures, are only a few examples of documents that should be translated.
