Township of Ocean School District NJ
Ocean Schools Handles Communication with Surging ESL Population with the Instant Language Assistant (ILA)
Overcomes Language Barriers to Improve Engagement and Integrate Students
3,000
Students
18
Schools
32
Languages
7%
Multilingual
Learners
Case Study
The Problem
An influx of foreign language-speaking students challenged the capabilities of the school district for effective communication with them and with multilingual student and family engagement.
The Solution
ILA, Instant Language Assistant
ILA PRO
ILA PRO
The Results
- More efficient communications
- Improved engagement with ESL families
- Smooth assimilations of multilingual students
- Time and resources savings
- More accurate translations
Our multilingual families feel more comfortable, more empowered and more engaged because they know they will be understood at school meetings and events.
The Case
New Student Stress Capabilities
“Over the years, one of the biggest changes in our district has been an increase in multilingual learner enrollment,” said Cecilia Vila, PK-12 Supervisor of ESL and Bilingual Programs for the Township of Ocean School District. “Our schools needed to quickly adapt to the newcomers because they often have a lot of needs beyond just academics. It’s important to help parents who aren’t native English speakers register their kids for school, engage them in our community, make sure families have everything for their kids to be successful and feel welcome to come, ask questions, and share information.”
Located minutes from The Jersey Shore in Oakhurst, the Township of Ocean School District is a vibrant learning hub, serving 3,000 PK-12 students at six schools. Thiry-two native tongues are spoken at home and 7% of students and their families are multilingual. The most prevalent foreign languages spoken in the district are Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole and Arabic.
Geopolitical, economic and other factors have led immigrants to flock to Ocean Township from countries such as Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Ecuador, Colombia and Haiti. “We are a popular destination because we have a very successful school district and supportive community,” said Vila. “But also, because we’re conveniently located near major transportation systems and the Garden City Parkway.
Many Tongues = Many Challenges
“Language barriers with students and families who aren’t yet proficient in English during discussions of a student’s performance, evaluations or special education meetings, were problematic,” said Vila. “As a result, these families were not necessarily able to fully understand or actively participate in important conversations about areas of need or challenges for their student.”
A key factor in lower levels of involvement is often that a family or student doesn’t yet speak English. “If they aren’t comfortable coming to meetings or events because they assume they won’t be understood or able to understand the information, then they naturally shy away from participating,” explained Vila. But frustration with communication wasn’t just one-sided. “A lot of times our front office staff became frustrated because they weren’t able to communicate over the phone, or with immigrant parents who came to school in-person,” added Vila.
Sensitive and Written Communication Hurdles
Other areas of inefficiency and burden for the schools stem from handling time-sensitive situations and translating written material for non-native speakers. “We’ve had situations in which there were incidents between two students, or statements a student made, that required us to conduct a risk evaluation,” said Vila. “In both cases, we need to clearly explain to a parent that they need to come to school right away and ensure they understand the situation.”
In such scenarios, when time and comprehension is of the essence, schools may not have time to find and schedule a live interpreter, or to reach out to on-site staff that speak the language needed. “Going online to quickly type in critical information and hope for an accurate translation in these circumstances, or wasting time trying to find an adult to interpret, is a real hindrance.” The time and effort required to translate new and/or constantly update print and digital communications into multiple languages, including some that are relatively uncommon, also taxed school resources.
Solutions Helpful but Lacking
Like many schools, Ocean Schools relied on a hodgepodge of free legacy tools such as Google Translate, translation software and hiring live interpreters, to communicate with multilingual families – with limited results. Each resource Ocean Schools employs is helpful but comes with drawbacks. “Google Translate is nice but isn’t always accurate enough or can’t translate a specific dialect reliably,” said Vila. “We also have teachers, staff members or students that are multilingual to whom we can turn, but they don’t necessarily always have the academic vocabulary, specific language knowledge, or grasp of a dialect, to effectively interpret. There was always a whole constellation of different things that we would have to try to tap to communicate.”
Ocean Schools sought other options for multilingual student and family engagement. “We realized very quickly that we needed to add additional measures to engage and support the rapidly changing demographics of our families,” explained Vila.
Trying ILA
Ocean Schools heard about the Instant Language Assistant (ILA) from TranslateLive and reacted with natural, guarded optimism. “There are currently very few devices, software or programs that can deliver accurate, authentic translations and are also user friendly, so I was skeptical initially,” admitted Vila. “And there’s a limit to how much you can understand in advance about whether the product really works or not without testing it first.”
Ocean Schools ordered an ILA unit for staff at its main office and secretarial team to try out. “They loved it and instantly became like internal sales partners for the product with all the schools,” said Vila. The dual-sided ILA Pro device allows users to have natural back-and-forth conversations in 250 different languages and dialects, spell out loud, type or use American Sign Language (ASL) or Braille, and the entire conversation is immediately communicated to the other party in their chosen language. It is the only accessible communication solution that combines Artificial Intelligence (AI), Organization-specific Intelligence (OI), and the ability to patch in Human Interpreters (HI) when needed on-demand. It is also available as an app or software for schools or individuals to install on their own devices, and easily integrates with existing technologies.
“By using ILA, we enabled two-way real-time communication in which we are not only able to provide information to multilingual families and students in their language of choice, but we’re also able to receive information,” said Vila. “Now, when parents and guardians come to school to meet with teachers, each party can not only disseminate information but also gather more data too. This makes our processes and efforts more effective and helps our school district bridge cultures and be more inclusive.”
The ILA also enhances inclusion and reduces stereotypes. “Being culturally and linguistically inclusive means that I don’t assume that someone doesn’t speak English or would rather speak to me in English than in their native language, so just having that choice that ILA offers has been incredibly validating for our families,” said Vila. “It has been very well received by the ESL community and improved engagement because they realize they have an option that can facilitate their ability to communicate and understand information,” said Vila. “I think the ILA is one of the best solutions out there.”
Ocean Schools is using ILA’s broadcast features, which allow every participant to listen to a meeting or presentation translated in real-time into their chosen language on their own mobile device. “I have used ILA’s presentation and broadcast mode and found it tremendously helpful for required meetings with groups of families in which we have to provide updates and overviews on our program and their parental rights,” said Vila.
Better Communication Saves Resources
More efficient communication. More productive meetings. More accurate translations. More multilingual student and family engagement with the ESL community. Saving time and money by not having to redirect multilingual staff to help translate or invest money in other products are all benefits relayed by the Township of Ocean School District.
Importantly, when every taxpayer dollar must be justified, Ocean Schools reports the Instant Language Assistant is earning its keep. “We’re limited on resources, so the fact the ILA saves time by not having to try to utilize another human means we don’t have to invest as much in people or other products to translate documents and written communications, for example,” said Vila. “Also, when you break down the time involved each time you have to pull another employee away from, say, teaching a class, to translate, and how much of their yearly salary those recurring hours cost, it really adds up. Whereas ILA is an investment that you make once and then you have it forever.”
More efficient communication has enabled Ocean Schools to get more out of the information it produces. “A lot of information was not being utilized or accessed by multilingual learners and their families prior to the ILA,” said Vila. “In the future, we also plan to explore using ILA’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) functions for things like preloading translated questions and questionnaires.”
ILA’s Impact
According to Vila, ILA provided the Township of Ocean School District with the communication tool it needed to handle the influx of immigrant families entering the school system and made them feel heard and supported.
“ILA really met a major need very quickly and was a tremendous help in our ability to adjust to the change,” said Vila. “Now, as we continue to receive and welcome more multilingual learners, rather than viewing it as a challenge or unsurmountable, having ILA will really, really help make the process smooth.”
“ILA has helped me, and my team, bridge gaps in communication and engagement with multilingual families that traditional methods of translation cannot. Families know how to use the device and look for it at every school meeting or district event. In a sense, it has become another member of our team.”
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Need to hear more? Watch Cecilia describe her experience with ILA herself.