Author: Christopher Wong, volunteer interpreter for public school families

 

Being of Chinese origin and speaking Spanish often surprises people. But it always makes for a great ice-breaker when I’m interpreting for Spanish-speaking parents in our public schools.

After spending a year in Madrid teaching, I learned that I wasn’t cut out to be a teacher. However, I still enjoyed the school setting. Joining the San Francisco Education Fund’s Interpreter Program has been a great way for me to use my Spanish language skills in a new way and to maintain my ties with education.

The goal of the interpreter program, which supports Spanish and Cantonese speakers, is to bridge the communication gap that exists between non-English speakers and the staff at their children’s school. Most frequently, interpreters provide support for parent/teacher conferences. This is a critical time for parents to have access to an objective interpreter.  Teachers often encounter situations where parents are monolingual and students are bilingual. With a shortage of interpreters, it’s tempting to ask the child to translate on the teacher’s behalf, but no kid likes being the bearer of bad news.

I remember an occasion where I worked with a monolingual mother and her bilingual daughter. In this case, the teacher had to tell the mother that her daughter was falling behind in school because she was talking too much in class. If I hadn’t been there, the message might have been “lost” in translation and the mother wouldn’t have the information she needed to better support her daughter.

Working with SF families to ensure that they understand all aspects of their children’s education has been an excellent experience for me.  I have received numerous thanks you, not only from families that I have helped, but also the schools where I have interpreted.

This year I am supporting the San Francisco Education Fund in their effort to recruit new interpreters. Our hope is to prepare 30 new interpreters by October, just in time for parent/teacher conferences.  In general, we are looking for people who would be willing to provide about 4 hours of interpreting support per month.

For anyone who has interest in becoming a certified school interpreter through the San Francisco Education Fund, there are a couple things you need to know. First, you need to have advanced language skills. Secondly, volunteers are required to attend three full-day workshops led by a professional California State and Judicial Court certified interpreter. There you learn the basics of interpretation and ethics and practice with “mock” interpretation sessions.

I hope you will consider joining us. Your time and skills can help us better ensure that all families have the opportunity to participate in their child’s education.

 

Here is more information about upcoming training sessions:

 

Upcoming New Volunter Orientations:

Saturday, October 2: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Wednesday, October 6: 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

 

Upcoming Interpreter Workshop Series:

Saturday, October 9:  9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Saturday, October 16: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Saturday, November 6: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

All workshops take place at 727 Golden Gate Ave.

 

Here’s a full calendar of volunteer orientations. See a time and date that works for you? Contact Interpretation Coordinator Lehman Sio at lsio@sfedfund.org to sign up today!