Immigrant Parents of Schoolkids Lost in Translation

By DAWN ELIGIO

A group of immigrant activists and local officials proposed on Thursday that interpreters be available in each borough to parents of immigrant students who are not proficient in English.

“Language should not be a barrier to success,” said Public Advocate Leticia James at a press conference on the steps of City Hall. “Parental engagement is the key to success for our children. Given the diversity of the children of New York, we are all entitled full equality – equal access, equal opportunities.”

The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) has noted that the Department of Education has made great strides in restructuring the public school support system, but has yet to incorporate translation services by hiring “Language Access Coordinators” to support schools.

“We need infrastructure in a system this big. We need committed full time workers,” City Councilman Mark Levine said of the DOE.

About half a million families in New York City are immigrant families with children enrolled in public schools. In this diverse city, about 180 languages are spoken. The NYIC expressed the critical need for translation services to these families.

Three immigrant parents, in their native tongues, gave first-hand accounts of their struggles to understand their children’s assignments.

“I came to understand it was not because of my shortcoming, but a lack of services available to me,” said Etifaq Musleh, a mother from Bay Ridge, of the Arab American Association of New York, who told about the helplessness she felt when her child’s school documents were all in English. Parents Veronica Aparicio, of the Mexican-American Student’s Alliance, and Shamsun Nahar, of Desis Rising Up and Moving, recounted similar experiences.

“Because of the language gap, the parents become intimidated by the school,” said Mitch Wu of the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families. “Language support is their mandated right. It is not an optional service,”