The Language Access Lectern | a PGLS Podcast | Episode 2
In the latest episode of The Language Access Lectern, host Mark Byrne speaks with Tim Fournier, a Spanish language interpreter and student support specialist for Baldwin Community Schools. Tim brings 30 years of experience working with multilingual students and families and emphasizes the critical role of language services in facilitating communication and fostering inclusion for multilingual families in schools.
You can listen to the episode here. Continue reading for an engaging summary of Mark and Tim’s conversation, including Tim’s top strategies for creating comprehensive support systems for multilingual students and families in K-12 schools.
Language Access Services in Rural School Districts
Mark: Tell us about your background as an educator.
Tim: I retired as a principal two years ago. I’ve since been contracted in a district in “up-north Michigan,” a small, rural district with a diverse population. During my 30 years in bilingual programs, we didn’t have a sustained, committed interpreter service. That’s looked down on as an extravagance, even though you and I know how essential it is to serve our multilingual students and families.
Mark: Say more about the impact that language services can have on multilingual families and what that means for participation, social-emotional learning, student growth, grade level proficiency, and other important metrics. How do you see those conversations taking place in schools?
Tim: It has evolved so much over the last 30 years. There is a dearth of quality support and resources for ML families and students on both coasts. One of the biggest battles in northern Michigan for people in my current position are the principals, the board members, and the superintendent, who don’t often see the urgency because they may only have a small minority of ML families and students. But you and I know, no matter what size your multilingual population is, the urgency exists. Earlier in the spring, I worked with an EL family that had recently arrived. After getting through the linguistic barrier, you could see how ready this child was for kindergarten. His parents and caregivers provided him with the resources to prepare for school. The only thing he lacked was English fluency. His mom and dad didn’t have English fluency either. The teachers did not understand how they were going to teach this child.
Mark: I would give him two years until he’s flying circles around the other kids in the classroom.
Tim: Or until the end of the semester. Skills and concepts go from one code to the next. Once we broke through that language barrier, this kid was flying forward. This child and his parents were especially comforted that the district cared for their child’s success by providing someone who could support them linguistically and academically. We wouldn’t have known this if we didn’t have someone who could provide a bridge to their language and culture.
Wrap-Around Services for EL Students and Families
Mark: How else has language access impacted EL students and families?
Tim: In one instance, a student needed significant dental treatments. You can imagine the impact that had on their learning. We were able to attend to that right away. We call that wrap-around services, and it’s a big part of our work as bilingual educators. When we talk about impact, it’s not just about getting them through their IEP (individualized education plan). It’s not just filing a document and getting a plan together. It’s often that immediate stuff, where a child and their family are floundering in the system, helping them not only find success but to see the system as friendly to them, too.
Mark: So you guys are able to build trust with families right off the bat by providing the means of communication so they can meaningfully participate in education and elsewhere.
Tim: We have helped families who have recently arrived to prepare for Michigan winters, for example. Now, they’ve mastered the everyday life and all that work that comes with moving to a new country.
Community Cooperation to Support EL Students and Families
Mark: What can English-speaking students and families do to help multilingual students and families in their school districts?
Tim: My wife is a school psychologist in District 70, and they have some community-led programs that focus on getting more engagement with Spanish-speaking communities. They have parents who advocate for more Spanish-speaking families to attend events and board meetings. Also, getting back to the original nature of bilingual immersion programs, that aren’t solely attended by English-native-speaking students and led by English-native-speaking educators, can lead to authentic cultural and linguistic exchange.
The Importance of Building Trust with Multilingual Families
Mark: Talk to me about some of the challenges or bottlenecks that exist within a rural school district trying to tackle language access.
Tim: Where I work, Lake County, is one of the most rural and poorest counties in the state. If you’re in a county like this, they depend on tourism for three months out of the summer, when people come up to fish or go on vacation.
During the 2020 lockdowns, parents overwhelmingly wanted the schools to close, but we had to find a way to get them laptops. In many cases, the households lacked an internet connection. We bought hotspots. We brought meals. We drove down windy forest roads to get to people. The lockdown enabled us to see what our families are dealing with. When we came back to school, we tried to address their needs better, one way being better transportation opportunities for us to meet with our families without them always having to come into town. If we truly are about our families, we have to be about addressing the barriers not just to their learning but also in other areas, such as healthcare.
Mark: How do you build trust and promote engagement with ML families?
Tim: In our case, the biggest issue is not only the funding but getting the talent that can gain an intimate understanding of families and their needs, so the schools can respond accordingly. It’s on us to try to break down the barriers and get families to trust us. Often, that occurs during the tough times.
It’s not expecting to be the savior or swoop in. It’s about building rapport in your first months of service and getting to know people. I know it’s cliche, but it’s all about the relationship. In my experience, it’s living in the community. I know that’s difficult for a lot of educators because housing can be tough, but if you can at least live nearby and be very visible. Attend ball games. Home visits are essential. I know it sounds silly, but being there to cheer kids on as they arrive in the car line or bus line makes a difference. Our jobs are hard, and it’s hard to put on that face and be authentic about it, but if you remember your why, it goes a long way.