Building Community for Language Support Staff

An important part of our SDCOE North Star goal to reduce poverty and increase belongingness is ensuring that our students and families who speak a language other than English can access resources and supports from their school.

Throughout our county, nearly 17% of students are English learners and more than 100 different languages are spoken at home. Creating belongingness when students and families don’t speak the same language is a priority for several teams at SDCOE, who are working across divisions and with district and charter schools on this very topic.

With county office and district partners, SDCOE launched in 2022 the Translators and Interpreters Alliance (TIA), a collaborative learning community of language support staff dedicated to advancing excellence in translation and interpretation. TIA meets monthly during the school year. 

“The work of translators and interpreters in education directly advances our North Star goal in terms of increasing belongingness,” said Monica Ventura, SDCOE’s translator and interpreter. “Language access is a necessary condition for parent and family participation, which in turn increases student participation and belonging.”

The network brings together translators-interpreters, family liaisons, and bilingual office support or teaching assistant staff who translate or interpret as part of their regular duties to share knowledge, exchange resources, and support one another in implementing best practices. By fostering connections with experts and leveraging the collective expertise of its members, TIA is helping to enhance language access in our schools, foster meaningful family engagement, and ensure equitable access to education for all.

“The job of the translator-interpreter can be lonely because so much of the work is done while you are around people who are not part of your field, so we relate to each other,” explained Charisse Florida from the Escondido Union School District, a member of the TIA planning committee. “We listen to each other and have a community. Sometimes members share about an experience they had during an interpretation session and how they handled it and get feedback on it, or they ask for advice on specific terminology or a challenging translation.”

The group began as a collaboration between Tony Mora in SDCOE’s Multilingual Education and Global Achievement department, Kathia Lopez, who supports family engagement, and Ventura, who works in the Communications and Creative Services department. It has since grown to include staff from JCCS, Early Education, Whole Child and Community Design, Student Attendance, Safety and Wellbeing, Friendship School, and Davila Day School. 

Today, nearly 200 people from 31 districts and schools actively and regularly participate in TIA meetings and events. Additionally, there is regular collaboration and communication with counterparts in the Orange County Department of Education and the Riverside County Office of Education. Spanish/English is the language pair for the vast majority of the group, but there are also participants who provide support in Chinese, Arabic, and American Sign Language. 

“Our members are at many different levels of experience, so having this community also helps the staff who are starting out learning from those who have been providing language access for many years,” Ventura said. 

SDCOE launched the TIA network webpage last fall when participants asked for a central place to find resources and meeting information. The page includes tools and useful resources such as ethics and standards for translators and interpreters, information about professional organizations in this field, glossaries, reference guides, and items for further reading. 

“When school staff understand what appropriate and intentional language access looks like, we can reduce barriers for families,” shared Diane Kemp Lopez from the Oceanside Unified School District who is also part of the TIA planning committee. “Staff who translate and interpret are essential to building equity and community, because without them, families can’t access information to help their students academically, emotionally, or with planning for their future success.” 

TIA not only helps their members advocate and share their impact, it also makes space for self-care topics in their offerings. Kathia Lopez emphasized that language professionals often carry the weight of difficult conversations, high-stakes situations, and demands for constant accuracy under pressure, making wellness support essential. 

Marcela Ramos, translator and interpreter at the Vista Unified School District, said, “It rejuvenates me knowing that there are other professionals fighting the good fight to better serve our families. The TIA network has provided me with an outlet to share my thoughts and listen to other solutions. In other words, it is truly a network, and I do not feel alone.”