What are translation services?
All parents and guardians, including emergent multilingual speakers, are entitled to meaningful communication in a language they can understand. The Essex Westford School District provides translation services for families in order to support access to their child’s educational program, including parent conferences, special education meetings, truancy hearings, open house events, field trip permission forms, report cards/progress reports and other critical school events and documents. Translation services provided by the school district are limited to only to school-related events and materials.

How does translation services work? 
Translators can provide both oral and written translations depending on the task and the needs of the family. Our translators are able to attend meetings, parent conferences, make phone calls, translate progress reports and any number of things we need so that our Multilingual Learners and their families have equitable access to their child's education.  We have several on-call translators as well as full and part-time Multilingual Liaisons for Nepali, Somali, Maay Maay and Arabic.  All translators and multilingual liaisons sign a Translator Confidentiality Agreement which ensures that student or family information is kept in strict confidence. 

How do you access services?
During the school year your EL teachers will be your key contact and will help parents/guardians access translation services. Ideally, materials that are sent out to the entire student body will be translated before being sent out. This helps to ensure that all students and families have pertinent information in a timely manner. The translators are contacted and are sent the work or are asked about availability to attend a meeting. You may also contact the district Multilingual Program Coordinator Tamara Eklöf-Parks at tparks@ewsd.org

What can the translators translate? 

• Translators can be requested to attend meetings and school events such as parent conferences, open houses, curriculum nights, IEP meetings, truancy hearings, and disciplinary meetings.
• Translators can provide written or oral translations of important documents such as progress reports, report cards, state assessment results, and other important school or classroom announcements. 
• Translators can provide help completing important school forms such as school registration forms, field trip permission slips, health forms, Free & Reduced Lunch forms, etc. 
• Translators can translate documents to provide equitable access to essential information that will ensure a sense of belonging and an opportunity to meaningfully participate in school-related events and activities.

What do we not translate?
We do not translate for family needs outside of school-related needs. For example, we do not provide translation services for medical appointments, for housing, or other community assistance programs. If a family is in need of translation to access these types of services, we will assist in finding the appropriate support.

Please remember that anytime students are asked to provide input on surveys or through other communications, these must be translated for all students who need this service. Students needing translations are flagged in PowerSchool. To access translation services for your students, please reach out to the EL teacher at your school or to Tamara Eklöf-Parks - tparks@ewsd.org