Hansen Elementary School

 

OSD Language Access Plan

 

Purpose

The Olympia School District’s Language Access Plan affirms Board Policy 4217 and 4218 and their accompanying procedures, which support establishing effective, two-way communication between the school district and family members with limited English proficiency, and promote access for such families to programs, services and activities of the District.

 

Definitions

1. Persons with “limited English proficiency/LEP” (labeled as such by federal and state agencies, but also used synonymously with the more asset-based term “multilingual” for those who speak or are learning to speak more than one language) are individuals who are unable to communicate effectively in English either verbally or in writing, or both, because their primary language is not English, and they have not developed fluency in the English language. A person with limited English proficiency may have difficulty in one or more of four domains of language: speaking, listening, reading and writing. Staff are urged to remember that limited English proficiency may be context-specific — e.g., a family member may have sufficient English language skills to understand, communicate and/or exchange basic information with a teacher, but they may not have sufficient skills to communicate detailed, specific information needed in a particular context, like an IEP meeting, a 504 meeting or a student discipline hearing.

2. “Primary language” means the primary language spoken by a student’s caregiver/guardian, or the predominant language spoken in the student’s home. Families may have more than one primary language and/or dialect.

3. “Language Services” refers to a broad spectrum of services used or required to facilitate communication and understanding between speakers of different languages, and typically includes interpretation, translation, and assistive technology services.

4. “Interpretation” means the process of first fully understanding, analyzing and processing a spoken or signed message and then faithfully rendering it into another spoken or signed language.

5. “Interpreter” means a spoken language or sign language interpreter working in a public school, as defined in RCW 28A.150.010, to interpret for students’ families, students and communities in educational settings outside the classroom.

6. “Translation” means the process of communicating the meaning of a written source-language text into an equivalent target language text in such a way that the content of both texts can be considered the same.

7. "Assistive Technology" is any item, piece of equipment or product system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.

8. ”Qualified Interpreter” means an interpreter who is able to interpret effectively, accurately and impartially, both receptively and expressively using necessary specialized vocabulary as measured by an eligible certification test.

9. “Multilingual Services” means services provided to eligible students and their families in support attaining fluency in the four language domains in English. Multilingualism is considered a linguistic asset and Multilingual Services include encouragement and support in retaining and expanding on fluency of native languages.

Language Services

Language Services can be accessed in a variety of ways:

 

• By calling, emailing or sending a note to the school, teacher, school administrator or the Knox 111 Administrative Office (call (360) 596-6100, or mail to 111 Bethel St. N.E., Olympia, 98506).  

• Leaving a voicemail on the district’s Language Lines (Spanish or Vietnamese)

• Through the use of the language services provider, Language Links, which offers live interpreter services

• By returning the interpreter request form (English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean). To access the form in other languages, please contact Heather Randolph at [email protected]

• Contacting Multilingual Services at (360) 596-8587

• Completing Effective Communication Form (4217F) for Assistive Technology

• Through district mailings, ParentSquare, notices or district/school website

 

Sign Language/ASL Interpretation

The district contracts with certified ASL interpreters who are available to interpret at school events and meetings. Services are accessible by contacting the school main office.

 

Interpretation and Translation

The District maintains a list of certified interpreters and translators, whose services can be requested by contacting the school, or the Teaching & Learning department at (360) 596-8540.

 

General Guidance for Scheduling Interpreters and Translations

The Teaching & Learning department, in partnership with the Communications and Community Relations department, will ensure that all OSD staff have a clear understanding and access to interpreters and translations. In the event that a particular language interpreter, or a request for translation, is unavailable, staff have access to a language phone line to support families and community members.

 

Spanish Message Line

The district has a telephone message line for Spanish-speaking families who have questions about the Olympia School District. This message line is designed to help families get answers to questions ranging from how to register for school or volunteer, to how to locate bus routes or daily lunch menus.

 

An Olympia School District employee who is a Washington State Certified Spanish Interpreter monitors the messages and responds to families with answers to their questions. The message line is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week year-round at (360) 878-2406.

 

ParentSquare

OSD has launched the ParentSquare communications platform for the 2023-24 school year. ParentSquare replaces the SchoolMessenger ‘Communicate’ platform previously used to send communications (robocalls, email and texts) to families and staff.

 

OSD families will continue to receive district and school communications via robocall, email and text regardless of whether or not they register for ParentSquare. The benefit to registering in ParentSquare is the access they will have to historical communications, the ability to edit and update their communication preferences and family contact information, and access to additional communication features as they are announced.

 

The ParentSquare app has a familiar design, similar to that of a social media feed. It also offers families the option of sending and receiving information in their preferred languages.

 

Should you have any questions regarding ParentSquare, please contact the Communications and Community Relations department at (360) 596-6103 or email.

 

Family Notifications

A notice about the availability of language services, including ASL, is posted in all school buildings and the district office reception area. Based on the Home Language Survey response for question #1, “In what language(s) would your family prefer to receive written communication from the school?” as well as, “Do you need an interpreter for meetings and phone calls (including ASL)?”, Multilingual Services staff will make that non-English language support indication in the district’s Student Information System.

 

Professional Development

All OSD staff play a key role in student success. Professional Development is available throughout the year, updated in August.

 

Audience	Topic	Date
Interpreters/Translators	Best Practices Language Access Policy Satisfaction Survey	September March
Office Professionals/Front Office	Language Access Policy and Procedures Resources	August OEAPA Training November April
District/Building Leaders	Language Access Policy and Procedures Best Practices in Supporting Language Access Providing school staff with Language Access training	September January May

 

Evaluation

The Multilingual Services team and Communications and Community Relations department will evaluate the Language Access Plan annually. A self evaluation will be conducted yearly in June. The evaluation will be based on feedback from:

 

• Multilingual Services surveys

• Focus groups

• Migrant Education Parent Advisory Committee

• Staff surveys

• Interpreter and translator feedback surveys

 

After the completion of an interpretation service, families will have the opportunity to provide feedback using a QR code, which is connected to a Google Survey. Alternatively, they can choose to complete a paper survey and return it to the school/district for evaluation of services.

 

Interpreters and Translators are vetted and are required to be certified by a language assessment every five (5) years that is within or supersedes the Professional level of 8, as defined by the ACTFL Scale of Language Proficiency. A yearly summary of performance and number of times a service was provided by a certified interpreter/translator will be evaluated by the team to determine future needs.

 

Language Access will be monitored and evaluated yearly (June) to record the availability/need for additional district translated forms, mode of communication requested (text, email, phone, in-person), and most common non-English languages. Internal records will be analyzed to determine efficiency of Language Access systems using the Google Request Form, and the Student Information Systems reports will track and provide details for all the families who have requested language support services as well as the language requested.

 

Role	Contact Information	Responsibilities
Language Access Co-Coordinators	Heather Randolph Director of Multilingual Services and Categorical Programs [email protected] (360) 596-8587   Susan Gifford Executive Director of Communications and Community Relations [email protected] (360) 596-6104	Provide ongoing PD to OSD staff and interpreter/translators on Language Access Plan  Yearly update of Language Access Plan based on self-evaluation and stakeholder feedback Coordination of interpreter/ translator requests Ensures that the designated language pages on the district website are accurate and updated yearly
Interpreter Coordinator	Erika Molina Duarte Executive Assistant [email protected] (360) 596-8540	Coordinates interpreter requests Maintains database of qualified interpreters and translators Manages the budget to provide language access services Partners with Communications and Community  Relations staff to post  Language Access Plan website updates
Civil Rights Compliance Officer	Scott Niemann Affirmative Action and Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator/Executive Director of Human Resources [email protected] 360 596 6193	Implements the district’s discrimination complaint procedures Monitors and coordinates the district’s compliance with state and federal non-discrimination laws, regulations, and guidelines. Responds to questions and concerns about equity and civil rights

 

Requests

For a list of certified interpreters and translators for the 2023-24 school year, please contact Erika Molina Duarte at [email protected].

 

For an up-to-date report of most common non-English languages for the 2023-24, please contact Heather Randolph at [email protected].