Build Empathy to Get Follow-Through

When I stepped into the role of ELL Coordinator in 2018, it was the first time the department had existed, and there were absolutely no resources for translation or interpretation, much less protocols and systems around their usage. I spent the first year researching our options for telephonic and in-person interpretation, translation, etc. I spent the next three years training staff on using them, and seeing almost zero change in staff behavior. They continued to either rely on me to do their communicating for them, or just not doing it in a language accessible way at all. Finally, in my fifth year in the role, I nailed it. I led a summer PD session with all staff that was the catalyst for changing staff behavior. Interpreter phone calls increased by more than 10 times from the previous year, and translation and in-person interpretation increased by more than 7 times without me stepping in to do it for them. Multiple times, building leaders and staff named my summer PD as the most effective support they received in doing so. I want to share my lessons learned, one tip at a time, starting with today.​

Tip

​Use real case studies in your professional development to drive home the “why” of language access.

Story

​Case studies were the very first meaty section of my professional development. I wrote up four case studies: three were real stories about how failure to provide language access had a tangible and real impact on a student or family in our district, such as a new kindergartener missing the first six weeks of school, because her mom couldn’t access information about before care, and no one was calling about her attendance. The fourth was a collection of parent/caregiver quotes that I compiled from our annual parent interviews. 

I was going to do a jigsaw activity to save time. (Until recently, I was always trying to minimize PD time, being afraid of asking for too much, maybe connected with my personal hang-ups on wanting to always accommodate and please). However, our President of Academics gave me the feedback that I should have everyone read every case study, and just take the extra twelve minutes it would take to make that possible. I was so grateful for that feedback. It made all the difference, and the reason I think the case studies were so important for everyone to read is this:

When we are asking non-ELL staff to ensure translation of every message, form, document, email, etc.; when we are asking them to book an interpreter for meetings, conferences and events; when we are asking them to place a call using an interpreter, we are asking them both to do something extra and to change they way they have been doing things for a really long time.

Why would anyone do something extra or be motivated to change old habits without deeply understanding the why? And with a group that hasn’t been communicating or building relationships with multilingual families, they are starting from ground zero. It is our job in the PD session, to give them a window into the lives of the people it is their job to serve, and how their actions impact their lives as well as student outcomes. The case studies cultivate empathy, which opens people ears and hearts to the instructions you are about to give them. That is why they are so crucial.

Call to Action

​Keep a bank of stories throughout the school year, so when something happens that could have been avoided by someone implementing multilingual communication correctly, write it down. Then, when it is time to write your PD session, you have a bank of stories to draw on to build your case studies. To ramp up the effectiveness, you can select them such that you have different ones that will resonate with different roles and what is most important to them. For example, some people care deeply about attendance, others about academic outcomes, others about the family experience, etc.

Faster Together

As I said, I led a lot of pretty, buttoned-up PD sessions that were ultimately ineffective before I finally led one that changed employee behavior in year five. I want to help you get results faster, so you can learn from my mistakes, instead of having to take years to learn them on your own. To get results in communication equity faster, I invite you to join my 2023-2024 cohort working in Phase I of communication equity. 

Phase I is all about laying the groundwork to ensure that when you launch your communication equity systems (in Phase II), the systems you roll out hit the ground running, and you see a dramatic increase in staff-wide usage of multilingual communication tools. Among other things the Phase I cohort: 

• write a communication equity policy for their district
• customize a user-friendly multilingual family communication handbook chalk-full of resources for staff
• evaluate your current tools and make changes if necessary
• set up your tools and protocols so you can measure district usage while disaggregating ELL team usage so you can tell if the practices are spreading district- or school-wide 
• plan your roles and responsibility in language access fulfillment so no one person burns out 
• plan your training and accountability cycle for your launch year (Phase II) 
• … and the crown jewel will be creating a highly effective professional development session for campus leaders and another one for all staff that will be your anchor for everything else you do to ensure follow-through

If you would like to find out more about the next Phase I cohort, and what that could look like for you, just:

1. Schedule a call
2. Share your concerns and needs so we can make a plan that works for you
3. Later, we will celebrate together as your schools become more equitable, welcoming, and inclusive

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