District Breaks Language Barriers for Diverse Families

School and Family Partnership is Vital to Student Success

In a proactive approach to inclusivity, Campbell Union School District is tackling language barriers for its diverse community. With over 50 different languages spoken among district families, the initiative helps all families engage with and support their student’s success at school.

“Except in our dual immersion school, all student instruction is provided in English. That presents an extra hurdle for students whose primary language is not English,” said English Language Development Program Coordinator Denise Kilpatrick. “Our district is committed to making educational content accessible for all students and actively involving their families in the learning process.”

Because the district is committed to two-way communication, it provides a range of resources to facilitate it, including on-demand interpreters and translators for employee requests, language preference settings on ParentSquare for personalized communication, and multilingual options for school newsletters. A phone interpretation service, Language Scientific, facilitates real-time conversations, ensuring effective communication between parents and teachers.

To further bridge the gap, some schools are piloting web translation applications. These tools aid newcomer students in accessing classroom lessons and provide families with an additional avenue for obtaining information to support their children's learning at home.

Caption: Multicultural events and celebrations, like this one at Forest Hill, are another way our schools embrace partnering with parents and encourage family involvement in student learning. See short video.