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As the number of English learners in American schools continues to rise, it is not just students that are going to need more help.
随着在美国学校学英语的人数持续增加，需要更多帮助的不仅仅是学生。
Parents and families that do not speak English also need support, say school officials.
学校官员表示，不会说英语的家长和家庭也需要支持。
Parents need to feel like they can be actively involved in their child's schooling, regardless of any language barriers.
不管任何语言障碍，家长需要感觉他们可以积极地参与到孩子的教育中去。
And it is "on us as a district to create that space" for families to be involved, said Leonor Vargas.
莱昂诺尔·瓦格斯说，“作为一个学区，我们有责任为家庭创造空间”，以让他们都参与进来。
She is an administrator with the Austin Independent School District in Texas, where almost 30 percent of the student population are English learners.
她是得克萨斯州奥斯汀独立学区的一名行政人员，该学区近30%的学生是英语学习者。
She and Principal Janet Huger-Johnson of the East New York Elementary School of Excellence shared their experiences last week in an online discussion with the news organization EducationWeek.
上周，她和东纽约卓越小学校长珍妮特·休格·约翰逊在新闻机构“教育周刊”（EducationWeek）的在线讨论中分享了她们的经历。
It is important for parents and families to be able to communicate in their desired language.
对家长和家庭来说，能够用他们想要的语言交流是很重要的。
Johnson said her school, for example, uses a phone app that permits teachers and administrators to send messages in English that will translate to the parent's language.
约翰逊说，例如，她的学校使用了一款手机应用程序。该应用程序会把教师和管理人员用英语发送的信息翻译成家长使用的语言。
And when the parent responds, the message is translated back into English.
当家长回复信息时，该应用程序会把信息再翻译成英语。
She added that sometimes the school will need to hire people in the community to help with translation.
她还说，有时学校需要雇佣社区里的人来帮助翻译。
Beyond language barriers, parents and family members should feel like they are part of the school community, the officials said.
官员们说，除了语言障碍，家长和家庭成员应该觉得他们自己是学校社区的一部分。
That means getting to know every family through online or in-person meetings and creating space for parents from similar backgrounds to communicate with each other about their concerns.
这意味着要通过在线或面对面的会议来了解每个家庭，并为家庭背景相似的家长创造空间，以让他们就自己关心的问题进行相互交流。
Vargas said just asking parents simple questions like what their child's dreams are, or what their child is good at, will quickly start a conversation.
瓦格斯说，只要问家长一些简单的问题，比如他们孩子的梦想是什么，或者他们的孩子擅长什么，对话就会很快开始。
"They have to believe that the educational system does not stop at the school's door," Johnson said.
约翰逊说：“他们必须相信，教育系统不会止步于学校门口。”
"They have to believe that it's no different than where they came from."
“他们必须相信，这与他们所来自的地方没有什么不同。”
Understanding cultural differences is also important.
理解文化差异也很重要。
Vargas shared a story from her district where some Afghan students were not eating food provided by the school.
瓦格斯分享了她所在校区的一个故事，在那里，一些阿富汗学生不吃学校提供的食物。
After speaking with the families, the teachers found the students were not eating because they were unfamiliar with the food.
在与这些家庭交谈后，老师们发现这些学生之所以不吃学校提供的食物，是因为他们对这些食物不熟悉。
So, Vargas and other school teachers will soon hold an event where families can taste the food and know what their children are eating.
因此，瓦格斯和其他学校老师不久之后将会举办一场活动，家庭成员们可以在这场活动中品尝学校的食物，了解他们的孩子在吃什么。
Schools will also start sending home translated menus.
学校也将开始把翻译后的菜单寄到学生家里。
Schools can "find value in education through their culture," Johnson said.
约翰逊说，学校可以“通过它们的文化在教育中找到价值”。
Parents that do not speak English need to feel that they are equal to any other parent in the school community, they said.
他们说，不会说英语的家长需要觉得他们与学校社区中的其他任何家长是平等的。
And if schools do not offer support to families, the results can cause problems.
如果学校不为家庭提供支持，就会产生问题。
A recent investigation by The Associated Press found that schools in the city of Philadelphia often provide little support to immigrant parents.
美联社（The Associated Press）最近的一项调查发现，费城的学校通常很少向移民家长提供支持。
Some parents said the school system offered poor translation services.
一些家长表示，学校系统提供的翻译服务很差。
Mandy is a parent in Philadelphia who speaks Mandarin.
曼迪是一位说中文普通话的家长，她住在费城。
Her child has special needs.
她的孩子有特殊需求。
She told the AP that during one meeting, a telephone translator said she did not know anything about special education and refused to translate.
她告诉美联社，在一次会议上，一名电话翻译说她对特殊教育一无所知并拒绝翻译。
Recently, she had to bring a friend to the school to translate during a school meeting.
最近，她不得不带着一个朋友去学校参加学校会议，以让这个朋友帮她翻译会议内容。
"It feels like immigrant parents are deliberately excluded and pushed to the margins," Mandy said.
曼迪说：“感觉移民家长被故意排斥在外，被推到了边缘。”
Students in English education programs are a large and growing population in American schools.
参与英语教育项目的学生在美国学校中是一个庞大且不断壮大的群体。
The U.S. Department of Education says that the number of English learners increased by more than 1 million from 2000 to 2020.
美国教育部表示，从2000年到2020年，学习英语的人数增加了100多万。
Forty-three states saw increases in English learners over that time.
在这段时间里，43个州的学习英语的人数都有所增加。
And U.S. Census data showed that the number of people who speak languages other than English at home increased by more than 8 million over the last 10 years.
美国人口普查数据显示，在过去10年里，在家说英语以外的语言的人数增加了800多万。
Almost 22 percent of American households speak a foreign language at home.
近22%的美国家庭在家中说一门外语。
The Department of Education Office of Civil Rights requires schools to provide translation services to families in whatever language they speak.
美国教育部民权办公室要求不管学生家庭说哪种语言，学校都要为其提供翻译服务。
Schools must not use other students to translate or use other untrained workers.
学校不得让其他学生或其他未经培训的人员翻译。
In Philadelphia, however, the AP found that schools often use students for translation.
然而，美联社发现费城的学校经常让学生翻译。
Olivia Ponce, another parent in Philadelphia, also had problems with language.
费城的另一位家长奥利维亚·庞塞也有语言方面的问题。
She tried to talk to a school official when her daughter was being bullied at school.
当她的女儿在学校被欺凌时，她试图与一名校方官员交谈。
The school's translator was not available, so the official had another Spanish-speaking student translate.
学校找不到翻译人员，所以这位官员让另一名会说西班牙语的学生来翻译。
The student did not translate well, and the discussion went poorly.
这个学生翻译得不好，讨论进行得很不顺利。
Ponce kept her daughter home for a week.
庞塞让她的女儿在家待了一周。
"I didn't know we had rights and that they couldn't take students out of class to help translate for us…They never told us this," Ponce told the AP.
庞塞告诉美联社：“我不知道我们有这样的权利，也不知道他们不能让学生离开课堂来帮我们翻译……他们从来没有告诉过我们这一点。”
"What I want is for parents to know that when their children start an education, they have a right to be a part of it."
“我想让家长们知道，当他们的孩子开始接受教育时，他们有权利参与其中。”
I'm Dan Novak. And I'm Jill Robbins.
丹·诺瓦克、吉尔·罗宾斯为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
