Parent need for language translation soars in Charlotte schools
With close to one-third of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students living in households where the primary language is not English, the district’s need for translation services is growing.
CMS is four months into using a Massachusetts-based company’s call center to provide 24/7 language translation service to families. The district says it’s an expansion to language and document interpretation services.
“The service eliminates the wait period for connection to a live interpreter. Prior to this, service could only be provided during working hours and many families were left with leaving voicemail messages that might not be returned in a timely manner due to limited hours of operation,” said Eve White, the district’s executive director of communications.
Nearly 3 of 10 parents surveyed by The Camino Health Center in Charlotte, formerly the Camino Community Center, say language barriers are a significant factor to them not being more involved with their children’s school. Camino is one of the region’s only bicultural and bilingual community centers, focused on helping Latino families.
One mom, who asked the Observer to use only her first name, Dina, regularly asks for help from a co-worker to interpret automated calls from her son’s school and she needs an interpreter when meeting with his teacher on Zoom calls. Her son, in the third grade, speaks English but she primarily speaks Spanish. She moved to Charlotte in 2011 from El Salvador.
“It’s very frustrating for me because as a parent I need to know what’s happening in my kids’ lives,” she wrote in an email to the Observer.
“It’s so important to know and understand even the smallest of details. For example, if it’s an emergency and they call me to let me know that my son’s bus route has changed or that he’s coming home early on the bus, it’s in English.”
Scott Braswell, the media relations specialist at The Camino Health Center, told the Observer it has received two complaints about the district’s language interpretation services this year. It’s unclear if the complaints came before or after the new service. CMS says it does not have record of any complaints.
The district signed on with Lionbridge Technologies for $96,000, utilizing American Rescue Plan money, according to the contract CMS provided. The service launched Oct. 1, 2021 and offers a wide variety of language services for families who don’t speak English, including over-the-phone interpretation, document translation and video/remote translation.
Parents who need language interpretation service can contact the Language Assistance Team at (980) 343-1359.
Before adding the new 24/7 line, CMS language line workers would need to transfer non-Spanish language calls to an outside translator. With Lionbridge, all callers will reach an interpreter quickly, according to CMS officials, and the service provides translation for more than 350 languages.
Previously, calls were answered and in-person translation help for Spanish to English was handled by four Spanish interpreters. CMS says those employees will continue to handle some interpreting requests, provide orientation for families of non-English speaking children and help translate school-based and district documents The district has a total of 29 interpreters, including 17 school based interpreters.
“The process with the prior Language Assistance line sometimes resulted in cumbersome conversations,” White said. “A school might call the Language Assistance line for help with a language other than Spanish. The CMS Spanish interpreter answered the call then called the third-party vendor for the requested language.”
She added that during remote instruction, the volume of the calls increased and not all callers could not be assisted.
“The need was greater than the workforce,” White said.
Spanish is by far the most used language by CMS families other than English. This year, the district enrolled the highest-ever number of students who are English learners, bringing the district total to 25,491. Across CMS, a total of 46,706 students speak a language other than English at home — representing 204 languages.
Since October, more than 5,600 calls have gone to Lionbridge from CMS parents and families needing interpretation services.
Nadja Trez, the district’s executive director of Learning and Language Acquisition, said the new automated system allows immediate access. Trez said the department is working to develop ways to solicit feedback about the new service from families.
Trez said the new service is used “when a matter is brief or an emergency and expected to last no more than 15 minutes.”
“This service is not a substitute for in-person or virtual interpreters supporting parent conferences, 504 and IEP meetings, etc.,” Trez said.
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 12:04 PM.
