Requirement for this training - Bilingual (English/Spanish)

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides rights to multilingual families and requires schools to provide information in a language that is understood by students and families.

Past and current practices that do not provide the same access to materials and resources as English-speaking families are out of compliance. Using older siblings, other family members, or students themselves is a practice that is neither appropriate nor in compliance with the OCR. However, many districts have multilingual staff on hand that they may use to help communicate with multilingual families. This training will provide Spanish-speaking staff members training on interpreter practices such as confidentiality, family rights, and ethics around interpretation. In addition, participants will learn essential school-based vocabulary, practical tips, and opportunities to practice with various scenarios. Participants will also be given a language assessment at the end of the session to guide their own learning and growth in their role as an interpreter. Any school employee that is currently interpreting for Spanish-speaking families or may interpret in the future should attend this training series.

I was born and raised in Van Buren Co. From a very early age, my passion has been to serve the Spanish-speaking community. I graduated from Hartford High School. I earned a BA from Kalamazoo College (Spanish/English/Bilingual) and an MA from Western Michigan University as a result of being a King Juan Carlos Fellow in Spain.  I have been a Kellogg Foundation exchange teacher to advise schools and teachers in Mexico. As part of the Binational Teacher Exchange Program with the Van Buren ISD I had the opportunity to participate as an exchange teacher and as a trainer of English teachers in Mexico. For one year I taught Spanish at Kalamazoo College and at Western Michigan Univerisity. For most of my adult life, I have interpreted and translated for a variety of agencies and organizations. Battle Creek has been my home since 1977, but I always seem to make my way back to Van Buren County. There is so much work to be done here! In November 2018 I received my certificate as an interpreter, and in November of 2019 (after a week of intensive training and testing), I became an interpreter trainer for VOCES, an organization in Battle Creek that serves the Hispanic/Latino community. I belong to a Spanish book club in Battle Creek.