What's Happening in Lowell, MA…

Lowell students speak 69 different languages at home, and in the schools, but few interpreters are available. Now, the city is going to change that.

Approximately 30% of the students have a first language other than English, and in order to communicate with their families, schools have been using interim measures such as having volunteers assist in the translation process, asking staff members who have other jobs but know the language to help, or even asking students to step in and assist in translating information for their families. English, Spanish, and Khmer are the most-spoken languages in the schools, but Bengali, German, Polish, and dozens of others are also heard.

Now, school administrators are making outreach and translations services a priority, beginning by hiring five bilingual experts to act as liaisons with students' families. The have also added $50,000 to be used for contracted translation services, with another $200,000 held in reserve for more such services to be obtained on an as-needed basis.

Joel Boyd, the superintendent of schools, said he believes the schools are obligated to address the problem presented by the linguistic tangle, so that the community can benefit from its diversity. Boyd noted that some translation services are already available through the Family Resource Center, and parental liaisons, but more is needed. He added that although community efforts will also be part of effort, the core strategy must change. Print shops can create newsletters to share information like this.


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