Real-time translation at North Mason graduation

Helping families know what’s said at events

Kirk Boxleitner | Jun 15, 20230

When the Class of 2023 graduated from North Mason High School on June 9, its numbers included 32 multilingual-learner students, so this year’s graduation ceremony included a new accommodation for MLL students’ families.

Amanda Marley-Clarke, communications specialist for North Mason School District, explained how this year’s high school graduation made the first use of district interpreters to provide simultaneous translation services, through 35 headsets, directly to the multilingual families in the audience.

“The use of these headsets, and simultaneous interpretation, helped make this year’s event much more inclusionary,” Marley-Clarke said.

Marley-Clarke recounted how the district’s family engagement team tested the system, including the range of the headsets and other devices involved, before they explained at the May 31 MLL parent committee meeting how the devices would assist the real-time interpretation provided at the graduation ceremony.

“I remember, one year, one of our graduates recited a well-received speech in Spanish, and all I could think was that I wished I knew what she was saying,” Marley-Clarke said. “From that standpoint, I can only imagine what the families of our multilingual students must experience.”

Marley-Clarke and other members of the North Mason School District cited House Bill 1153, which was signed into law in March.

“In light of that legislation, our family engagement team has increased its focus on ensuring documents are translated, and interpreter services are available, throughout the district,” Marley-Clarke said. “It’s a big job for our interpreters.”

Two of those interpreters are family engagement team member Maria Montejo-Gaspar and family engagement community program liaison Mateo Santiago.

Both interpreters have been excited to debut community services in addition to translation at graduation, including the linguistic vetting of information releases sent to families of MLL students and other multilingual members of the community.

“It’s important that everyone has a better understanding of what the district is trying to communicate,” said Montejo-Gaspar, who added that, whether it’s providing district news or helping families experience what’s being said during events devoted to honoring students, “it makes everyone feel more welcome.”

Santiago pointed out that he and Montejo-Gaspar are tasked with translating district communications into not only Spanish, but also Q’anjob’al, a language spoken primarily in Guatemala and part of Mexico.

“That includes providing phone callers with speakers of their native languages,” said Jennifer Johnen, family engagement resource coordinator for the North Mason School District. “Whether it’s through social media, emails or newsletters, we’re sending out a lot of information about how district families can connect with community resources. That’s not the sort of service that can be left to Google translate.”

To ensure the district’s multilingual families are represented, the family engagement team also created a parent advisory committee that meets at least every other month. It serves as a sounding board and provides feedback for the district’s community engagement efforts.

The MLL parent committee plans to host a table at the Aug. 23 PICNIC (Purposefully Integrating Culture Nurturing Inclusive Community), complete with servings of authentic Spanish corn and horchata, to raise awareness of the district’s efforts to support MLL students and multilingual families.