Language Accessibility Obstacles at Your School by Letitia Vigil https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc Post your response to the discussion topic by clicking the plus button below. en-us 2025-09-23 17:42:43 UTC 2025-10-27 15:48:46 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f4ac.png https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652785560 Registration is online and our district website is in English only so the parents have a hard time accessing the information on where to enroll. They can change the language of the website but there are no directions on how to do that.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:43:03 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652785560 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652785842 Technology - communication primarily through an app (which does translate). Getting the app downloaded so families can access crucial information from the teachers and admin, as well as be able to message teachers directly.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:43:13 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652785842 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652786116 Our Student Info System is ofter very difficult for families to go through


]]> 2025-10-27 15:43:22 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652786116 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652786196 Understanding the logistics of the school

]]> 2025-10-27 15:43:23 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652786196 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652786534 Unfamiliarity with U.S. school procedures.


]]> 2025-10-27 15:43:35 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652786534 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652786613 My school has provided printed translated materials, but often lacks the staffing to assisting with speaking and interpreting these materials.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:43:37 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652786613 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652786684 We oftentimes see confusion regarding the "Home Language Survey" shared with families to determine eligibility for ESOL services. Additionally, communication with families is not always provided in a translated version for all families/languages.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:43:39 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652786684 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652786711 Technology

]]> 2025-10-27 15:43:40 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652786711 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652786754 Confusing language in registration documents that aren’t easily translated.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:43:41 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652786754 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652786794 Many things are just in English, but we do have front office staff who are fluent in Spanish. However some of our ML families are not Spanish-speaking but have various other home languages and there are no supports for them

]]> 2025-10-27 15:43:43 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652786794 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787181 We try our best to translate all of the important documents into Spanish (our most common language) and we will call with an interpreter to explain for another language

]]> 2025-10-27 15:43:56 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787181 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787243 The language barrier if they do not understand the school system. Especially if they are new to country.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:43:58 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787243 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787258 They feel embarrassed or shy to communicate.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:43:58 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787258 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787397 No one can communicate with them when they arrive. Signs are only in English in most of our district buildings.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:44:02 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787397 claires42 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787440 Parents not having enough literacy/education in their native country/language to understand how to help their student develop or even to understand typical milestones.


We have some bilingual financial literacy classes for parents, but we need to do more

]]> 2025-10-27 15:44:04 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787440 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787470 Transportation, translation, onboarding, orientation, cultural understanding ( from assessments, to food choices, to finances, to available resources in school).

]]> 2025-10-27 15:44:05 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787470 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787614 Almost all of the messaging comes home in English. Also, the technology portion is hard for all families to access...

]]> 2025-10-27 15:44:09 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787614 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787625 Transportation

]]> 2025-10-27 15:44:10 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787625 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787664 Our school caters to our Spanish-speaking families fairly well, and a majority of our families are Spanish-speaking. However, we have had an increase in Portuguese-speaking families, Arabic, Urdu, and more; and those families are kind of left in the dust now....


]]> 2025-10-27 15:44:11 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787664 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787705 Understanding the expectations around student attendance.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:44:12 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787705 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787712 There are only two translators that we can use for meetings/phone calls/conferences and they have other jobs. It is difficult budget wise to be able to get the staffing we need to meet parents needs

.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:44:12 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787712 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787868 Our specific program does a great job at translating everything but as a district there are things missed.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:44:18 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787868 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787945 Inconsistent or confusing information shared by different staffing

]]> 2025-10-27 15:44:22 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652787945 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652788048 Expectations - staff try to


]]> 2025-10-27 15:44:24 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652788048 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652788084 We work on creating welcoming environments, but sometimes parents are not aware of their rights to request translations and interpretations.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:44:25 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652788084 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652788363 Requiring a separate app downloaded / choose a specific language in settings (Parent Square)

]]> 2025-10-27 15:44:33 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652788363 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652788381 Too many different apps and contact methods.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:44:34 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652788381 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652788459 When families enter my school their information is typically taken very quickly, and oftentimes wrong, by the registrar. Communication is limited and we have partnerships with language lines, but some staff are still reluctant to use it. When they then come to school on the first day, there have been many cases where the home language is wrong, and in instances where we have had a large influx of migrant students, even their genders are wrong. This causes a lot of confusion for the student, as well as the teachers who are trying their best to help the student feel comfortable in such a new space.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:44:36 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652788459 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652788623 The school website can be difficult to navigate if not organized in a logical way.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:44:41 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652788623 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652788669 Enrollment forms often only in English, school websites/apps lack ML support.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:44:43 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652788669 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652788765 Other languages are still unseen

]]> 2025-10-27 15:44:44 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652788765 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652788785 Online registration and back to school paperwork is now all digital which is not always easy to navigate on a phone.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:44:45 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652788785 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652788961 Front office staff is not always the most welcoming which sets the tone for school and how families entering the school for the first time interpret the larger community.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:44:50 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652788961 bfeldott1 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652789045 The language of the Home language survey was difficult to understand and provided vague language that could be interpreted in various ways. The district is now working on making this form more accessible. Additionally, an interpreter is sometimes not brought in when a parent is first registering the parent, making the experience less accessible.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:44:52 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652789045 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652789426 I often think it would be beneficial to have advocates or a caseworker for each family and there just isn't the staffing or the understanding of the need

]]> 2025-10-27 15:45:06 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652789426 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652789443 Transportation - helping students get to the bus stop on time / early so that they don't risk missing the bus and then are unable to attend school that day

]]> 2025-10-27 15:45:06 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652789443 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652789525 I work in a small district. Lack of training and awareness of barriers, limited availability of professional translators.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:45:09 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652789525 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652789588 Systems may keep changing and some of the procedures got lost in "translation"

]]> 2025-10-27 15:45:12 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652789588 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652789790 Not everything is able to be translated on the online registration

]]> 2025-10-27 15:45:19 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652789790 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652789886 Support navigating social integration. Administration being blind to the growth pattern of ML's in our schools and not forward thinking to plan ahead.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:45:21 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652789886 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652790093 I believe some of the most important barriers don't always come from the district level tools available, as much as front facing folks, who don't always have culturally appropriate ways of interfacing with people who may, or may not speak English, but come from a culture outside of the normal white dominant norms.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:45:27 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652790093 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652791244 Making sure all admin staff are trained to support administration of the language survey.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:46:03 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652791244 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652791256 Obstacles for families begin at registration. There is little bilingual support for families who are expected to navigate English paperwork, setting up transportation, providing medical history etc. Although some translated materials exist, they are not widely available in all languages.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:46:03 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652791256 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652791489 A lot of information such as forms are online, so if technology is a hindrance then it will be different for parents to access.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:46:11 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652791489 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652791791 In our school district, there is a limited amount of people who speak a different language other than English. When registering, families are force to use a phone service translators.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:46:22 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652791791 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652793517 Proving residency is usually difficult and causes families to be in the enrollment phase for sometimes months before a student can actually attend school.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:47:16 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652793517 https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652794341 I think many of district materials have been translated into the four dominant languages and we have staff who support sites in all of these languages. I think sometimes the problems come from accessibility. For example the difficulty in accessing information on our website because the translation isn't effective or parents/community don't know how to access the folks who do translating and interpreting.

]]> 2025-10-27 15:47:45 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652794341 htroxell https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652796224 Something that we use to help multilingual families is have one of our main forms of communication be Class Dojo, an app that can translate over 130 languages

]]> 2025-10-27 15:48:45 UTC https://padlet.com/letitiavigil/lipp3i9w2gg6p2jc/wish/3652796224