Ruby Butler, Clark-Pleasant’s culture and belonging coordinator, demonstrates how to use the translation station at Whiteland Community High School. It can be used to translate documents, tests and flyers for the school system with the click of a button.
Jayden Kennett | Daily Journal
Clark-Pleasant Community School Corporation is the first school system in the state to acquire technology that translates documents in less than a minute.
Corporation leaders said it’s a “game changer” in filling language barrier gaps in a school system where nearly a quarter of students are multilingual. Dubbed the “Translation Station” Clark-Pleasant is the first in the state to acquire the technology, said Ruby Butler, culture and belonging coordinator.
Before, a few multilingual educators would take extra time to translate documents or the school would hire a translation service. It could take anywhere from three days to 20 days to get a document back when using a translation service, she said, and can sometimes cost thousands of dollars.
The machine looks like a regular copier, but it can translate a document into over 170 languages including Punjabi, Japanese and Spanish, with up to 95% accuracy, Butler said. Each page costs about 30 cents to print, she said. The new technology will help close a much-needed gap in the school system, Butler said. She hopes this helps families feel a sense of belonging at Clark-Pleasant.
“We want our families to engage in what we do,” Butler said. “So everything from communications and flyers about back to school night, about family events that take place, we can actually translate those documents so that they know what’s going on and feel like they belong here, they are welcomed here … This machine is a game changer.”
Teachers can simply insert a document, including tests, forms and handwritten notes into the machine, select a language, and in less than a minute the document will be translated.
The physical machine is located at Whiteland Community High School, but teachers from other schools in the district can electronically have their documents translated from their own classroom.
Getting the machine was happenstance, Butler said. The school had been exploring new ways to engage and welcome students when they were contacted by a representative of Lexmark Translation Assistance. The need to fill a language barrier gap was apparent, she said.
“How lucky was I to be in the right place at the right time …” Butler said. “To me, that’s almost divine.”
About 13% of Clark-Pleasant’s student population are enrolled in their multilingual program where students receive English instruction, said Sarah Embler, multilingual learner district specialist. Almost a quarter of the students are multilingual and about 60 different languages and dialects are spoken in its school system, administrators said.
Families and students can now take the weight of bringing translation resources off their shoulders, Embler said. Before the technology, some students would have to take on the responsibility of translating for their parents. The goal is to take that pressure off those students so that they can focus more on education.
“A lot of times we have situations where kids are being asked to translate for parents, for a sibling, for a peer who’s new, and while there are times where that’s appropriate, or they can step into that leadership position, there are times whenever that’s just not what’s best for the kids,” Embler said. “So, it’s good to have other options.”
Earlier this week, the district held a parent meeting where they showed some families the documents for accuracy. Students were ecstatic and pointed out that their grandparents and parents would now be able to read important documents and information, Butler said.
While it’s “wonderful” being the first in the state to acquire such technology, this is “just the beginning” of Clark-Pleasant’s efforts to connect with families, Butler said. She hopes other schools will follow suit.
“While we are excited, happy being the first, we hope we’re not the last,” Butler said.
