The ATA Chronicle - January/February 2022 - 24

bilingual secretaries, parent
advocates, community
liaisons, family engagement
coordinators, or program
coordinators, they all have
one common denominator:
interpreting and translating
are part of the job
responsibilities.
It's important to
understand each role to
work collaboratively with
school staff to ensure
accurate language access
to our respective students,
families, and communities.
Staff members also need
to understand how the
educational system works,
how student academic
progress is measured, what
academic assessments are
implemented, and what
federal, state, and local
educational frameworks are
being utilized.
To engage families and
parents in their student's
education in meaningful
ways, schools need to
provide language access
in the classrooms and
in different educational
settings. Schools are not
required to have certified
interpreters or translators,
but having trained
multilingual staff
is imperative.
The lack of a national
certification, standards of
practices, and guidelines to
work as an interpreter in
schools is a big challenge for
educational leaders. The need
to provide language access is
vital, but we need to create
white papers and develop
policies to protect our work
and ensure accuracy and
transparency as dictated by
ethical principles.
Moving Forward
The OCDE Multilingual
Consortium surveyed those
who attended its meetings
from April 2020-December
2021 and received the
following feedback:
y 92 % were satisfied with
the topics presented.
y 97.5 % were extremely
satisfied with the meetings
and will continue to attend.
y 97.5 % responded that they
would recommend our
meetings to their peers.
There's still work to
do, staff to train, topics
to explore, and relevant
frameworks to create. Based
on our data collection,
bilingual staff working in
K-12 settings are eager to
learn more about:
y Computer-assisted
translation tools to
streamline translation
projects
y Note-taking systems
to support consecutive
interpreting
y Team interpreting in
school settings
y Translating multilingual
documents
y Honing skills on the
use of technology for
virtual meetings
y Advancing technical
vocabulary in different
areas, such as mental
health topics
y Trainings for teachers and
administrators on how to
work with interpreters and
NOTE
1
the importance of working
with trained bilingual staff
y Self-care for interpreters
y Supporting parent
involvement in their
student educational journey
Reflecting on the past
two years, I feel humbled.
We've grown so much as
a community as we keep
moving forward toward
the professionalization
of interpreters working
in K-12 settings. My big
dilemma: Should we
continue providing equal
opportunities for learning
to all bilingual staff working
in the educational system
in person? Or should we
continue with virtual
offerings? Or should we
create a hybrid model to
provide access to all?
With no right or wrong
answer, and even with the
uncertainty still looming,
we're starting to feel a
sense of normalcy. Some of
us are back in our office
environments, but others
are still working remotely.
With this in mind, things
will never be the same. We
learned to be flexible and
adaptable. We learned to be
empathetic with others. We
learned to be mindful of our
daily practices, but overall,
we learned how to be
grateful. Interpreters are
more visible than ever, and
we're so extremely proud of
your incredible job during
this unprecedented time
in history.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
California Department
of Education
Information on Public
School Districts
https://bit.ly/CA-districts
U.S. Department
of Education,
Office of English
Language Acquisition:
English Learners
Demographic Trends
https://bit.ly/English-learners
Orange County
Department of
Education
https://bit.ly/OCDE-about
World Atlas Largest
School Districts in
the U.S.
https://bit.ly/atlas-schools
Natalia
Abarca
manages the
Orange County
Department
U.S. Department of Education, Office of English Language
Acquisition: English Learners Demographic Trends,
https://bit.ly/English-learners.
24 The ATA Chronicle | January/February 2022
of Education Multilingual
Consortium, a professional
network established to support
high-quality translation
and interpreting services in
schools. A medical interpreter,
she is a licensed trainer for
The Community Interpreter
International training
program. She facilitates the
implementation of networks
and leadership development.
She hosts the annual OCDE
Interpreters and Translators
Conference in Education.
A founding member of the
American Association for
Interpreters and Translators
in Education, she serves
on the board as committee
coordinator. She is also a
member of ATA's Interpreters
Division blog team and
a past member of the
division's leadership council.
NAbarca@ocde.us
www.atanet.org
https://www.bit.ly/CA-districts https://www.bit.ly/English-learners https://www.bit.ly/OCDE-about https://www.bit.ly/atlas-schools https://www.bit.ly/English-learners http://www.atanet.org
The ATA Chronicle - January/February 2022

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