Phillips describes family engagement and language access
Phillips says families receive translated enrollment information and interpretation through NYCPS and early childhood programs. She says technology can help but should not replace human translation for important decisions.
Families are essential partners in the education of emergent multilingual learners across diverse early childhood settings that we support, including our dual language bilingual education programs.
During enrollment, families have access to translated information, and programs may use multilingual staff, interpretation resources, and appropriate translation technology to communicate with families.
NYCPS also provides families with broader language access supports, including written translation and in-person,
virtual, and over-the-phone interpretation services.
Families can access interpretation in many languages, and early childhood communications and enrollment resources are available in multiple languages.
Additionally, center-based settings and family child care networks have access to over-the-phone interpretation services and translation templates,
to support direct communication with families, whether in person or by the phone.
For family child care providers, the Affiliated Family Child Care Network is responsible for ensuring providers can communicate with families and connect them to interpretation and translation resources.
Our work is to strengthen consistency across the system so that a family's ability to communicate with their child's program does not depend solely on the language skills of individual staff members.
Technology can support that work, but it should not replace high-quality human translation and interpretation, particularly when families are making important decisions about enrollment, instruction, special education, or other services.