Can you help me translate for my students' families?

Parent Teacher conferences. More than ever, I have parents requesting that I provide a translator for the conference. (I speak English only.) I've asked our school secretary what the provisions are for translators during conferences. She indicated that there is no money to pay translators. There are some school staff members who speak Spanish and Korean, however they will have gone home when school is out and when conferences begin. Is it the responsibility of the school or the responsibility of the parent to provide a translator? I feel like

I'm spending too much time addressing this problem, when I could be working on report cards!

The school and the principal should help you in this area, but that doesn’t always happen. Still, you need translators if you are going to have a valuable conference with the parents. We need all parents to be partners in education and communication with them needs to be clear.

My suggestion to you is to write a letter in English, Korean, and Spanish and send it home to your students explaining your dilemma. If you have school staff members who can speak these languages, just write the letter and give it to them to translate for you.

In the letter, tell the parents you need their help in finding translators. Perhaps some parents will volunteer for each other, you never know. Ask for volunteers to send you their name, time availability, and contact information. Encourage the families to bring their own translators. Suggest that they consider asking older children, relatives, teenagers, neighbors, co-workers, or friends. If you are all working together, as you should, translators will come forward.

Have a portion at the bottom of your letter for parents to indicate times they choose to come to conferences, and have a space for them to check if they need a translator, can bring a translator, or can volunteer to be a translator.

Once you come up with the letter this year, keep it and use it each conference time. Conferences are already upon us, and you are working on borrowed time here, so make sure to start this process earlier before the next set of conferences in Spring.