‘Language cannot and will not be a barrier’: Cumberland County Schools launches interpreting program for families

When students in Cumberland County’s public schools head back to class in a few weeks, their parents and guardians will be better equipped than ever to communicate with staff about their children’s needs, thanks to a new language line the school system launched this summer.

The Cumberland County Schools Language Support Line debuted July 1, enabling live interpretation for dozens of languages, including Spanish, Korean, French, Chinese and Arabic.

Associate Superintendent of Communications and Community Engagement Lindsay Whitley told CityView the new program will improve communication with families who may not speak English as their first language. 

“We realize that we’re a very diverse school district, and we have people here and families here from all over the world,” Whitley said. “We understand that depending on the native language or the language that is spoken in the home, there is a need to be able to provide that same information to parents in their native language.” 

According to Whitley, Cumberland County Schools students represent more than 78 countries and 87 native languages spoken in their households.

“We always like to survey our families. We’ve done focus groups, and we’re always trying to figure out any barriers that we need to overcome,” he said. “We’ve felt like we really needed to try to overcome the language barrier at times, because if we’re only sharing information in English, then we understand that there’s some families who may not be able to gain access to that very important information for their child.” 

Here’s how it works, according to Whitley:

• Families calling the main Central Services switchboard at 910-678-2300 will have the option to press 1 for English or 2 for an interpreter.
• When someone presses 2, they will have the option to select the language they need and connect with an interpreter from the Richmond, Virginia-based company Syncroz.
• The interpreter will speak to the family member in their preferred language to determine their needs, then reconnect to the main Central Services number.
• From there, the interpreter will speak to school staffers in English and to the family member in their preferred language, translating back and forth to assist the family member with their student’s needs.
• Alternatively, family members can directly connect with a Syncroz interpreter by calling 910-858-8893.

The language line will only be operable during normal business hours, as the main Central Services line automatically goes to voicemail otherwise, according to Whitley.

The school system also plans to launch a staff language line in the coming weeks, giving employees the chance to use an interpreter if they anticipate reaching out to a family member who does not speak English, Whitley said.

The line’s initial launch was funded with Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund dollars, part of $3.6 billion in federal aid to North Carolina schools in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Whitley. With those funds ending in September, the school system will look to alternative federal funding sources and work with its Title I department to do so, he said. Title I provides aid to economically disadvantaged schools.

Whitley said the cost of the language line will depend on how many people use it, since pricing is determined by minutes of usage.

“We’re still in the growing phase, and so the cost isn’t that huge,” he said. “If you asked me today, ‘How much would this cost for the year?’, we wouldn’t really be able to determine that, because it really depends on how many parents call in and how many parents take advantage of it.” 

The language line’s goal is tied to better family engagement and, subsequently, improved student achievement, Whitley said. 

“Language cannot and will not be a barrier, because we have this language line,” he said. “If we can talk to a parent who speaks Spanish about resources, social-emotional support, academic resources, in their native language, and that helps them help their child, then it’s worth it.” 

Reporter Lexi Solomon can be reached at lsolomon@cityviewnc.com.

This story was made possible by contributions to CityView News Fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to an informed democracy.