My Personal Struggle With a Potential Conflict

I started teaching Spanish for Educators (Spanish for Teachers, Spanish for Office Professionals, etc.) simply because of popular request. Later I added on services to help other districts undergo the same transformation as my own district: ensure that translation and interpretation services don’t just sit unused, but are implemented district-wide and without funneling every call and communication through an ELL teacher or Spanish teacher, for example.
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In the beginning of this expansion, I grappled a little bit with it. On the one hand, I would be helping schools come into compliance with the Civil Rights Act, which requires that schools communicate in the language of families, and it requires that certified and trained interpreters not uncertified and untrained staff members serve as interpreters. On the other hand, here I was helping educators learn functional Spanish. Was I creating a situation where a school might over rely on staff members’ practical Spanish skills and not use interpreters? After sitting with that question and examining it for a while, I came to the conclusion that these two services are both part of the solution. Instead of being in conflict with each other, if implemented mindfully, they could both contribute to an environment that honors parents’ civil rights and extends a warm, personal welcome.

Spanish Tip

Aim, not to replace interpreters by staff learning Spanish, but to bridge the gap until n interpreter is present and strengthen relationships and trust with students and caregivers.

The Story

In the year leading up to my overhaul of my schools’ communication equity systems, I interviewed a cross section of staff members by asking them what their biggest challenge was in communicating with multilingual families. One of the comments that stood out to me was, “... it is impromptu parent visits to campus… we are trying to get [an interpreter] on the phone, but on the parent’s end it seems to be taking a long time and they don’t know what we are doing. On our end we don’t know how to communicate that we are helping and there are several steps we have to go through in order to make the call … and it feels high stress and high pressure and we just don’t have a way to communicate effectively in the moment.”

Since then, I’ve heard different versions of a similar predicament from others in other districts:

• I want our office staff to be able to tactfully put families at ease in the moments they need to take to get an interpreter there.
• I was in the parking lot before school opened, and the Martinez family pulled up and started speaking to me. I wasn’t in a position to get an interpreter on the phone,​ and I wished I had the skills to understand them and respond better.
• Sometimes a family will drop off their student late, but don’t know they need to sign them in. I have to be able to catch them quickly before they walk out the door, but I don’t know enough Spanish to do that.
• We use interpreters, but I know the families feel more comfortable going to staff who speak their language when they have a concern or a question. I want to know enough Spanish that families feel more comfortable coming to me when they need something. I could still then get an interpreter to have the conversation, but at least then they would feel more comfortable reaching out to me.

The moment when I noticed this pattern is the moment when the puzzle pieces came together for me. Is learning Spanish a replacement for interpreters? Definitely not. But if two people are up against a language barrier, it is helpful to be able to bridge the gap authentically and in-the-moment. To be 100% reliant on interpretation, in fact, can make it harder to bring humanity and social grace to the space and moments in between.
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While I think staff learning Spanish can open all sorts of doors apart from just this one, this is a nuanced but important purpose, especially for those seeking to make their schools more welcoming and inclusive. Additionally, for staff who love to serve and want to be their authentic selves with families, learning some practical language can feel like getting the key to the invisible door between themselves and families.
In short, learning a language and using it with others connects with people's hearts in a way that interpretation doesn't.

Spanish Call to Action

Ask your staff members if they are interested in learning some practical role-focused Spanish (or maybe a different language if you have high numbers of Mandarin or Arabic or something else). If you choose, you can make a copy of one of my questionnaires to make it easy. Here is an interest survey just for office professionals, and here is an interest survey for anyone and everyone. See what people say, and then start working on a plan.

Faster Together

If people are interested in learning practical Spanish, what then? First of all, if they are, that speaks volumes of your staff!

To start thinking about providing this unique opportunity to your staff, you have a few options: a) you can design a course in-house, b) you can hire a local Spanish teacher or professor, or c) you can contract with someone who has been refining their Spanish courses just for busy educators for the past five years, who can come deliver a proven course for you. That’s me! 🙂

I teach 6-week long Spanish for Educators courses focused on role (Spanish for Office Professionals, Spanish for Teachers, for example) or on purpose (welcoming families and building relationships). However, I know from experience as a language learner and teacher, that language classes very rarely are enough to get someone using their new language with real people (which is our goal for educators). People of all ages, but especially adults and especially educators, have all sorts of barriers: fear of making mistakes and appearing unprofessional, fear of initiating an exchange in the language, busy lives that make it hard to practice, chaotic days at work that can overwhelm the best of intentions.

I have built my classes to help participants with these barriers, and I include several supports in my courses that extend beyond class time, such as:

• printed signs that invite students and caregivers to help the person practice their Spanish,
• strategies for contending with a situation when you are “in too deep” and don’t understand the other person,
• daily bite-sized prompts to get participants practicing in a way that is manageable for their work and provides real time feedback as they engage in practice
• a text hotline to ask for help as questions or challenges come up during the week,
• and more.

​If you want to explore the possibility of providing a practical role- or purpose-focused Spanish course, just book a free call to talk about it!

1. ​Schedule a call​
2. Choose your dates and times
3. Celebrate as your school becomes more equitable, welcoming, and inclusive