Parent Advisory and Action Committee and Bellevue School District introduce multi-language phone line and email
In an effort to improve communication with families who do not speak English as a first language, and at the suggestion of the district-wide Parent Advisory & Action Committee (PAAC), Bellevue School District (BSD) has introduced dedicated phone lines for 6 different languages.
Dedicated phone lines for families who speak Russian, Chinese -- Mandarin or Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese were created. The phone lines are in addition to the dedicated Spanish phone line which has been in operation for over 2 years. Together, these 6 languages represent the most commonly spoken first languages of Bellevue students who are non-native English speakers.
The dedicated phone lines will enable a parent to leave a question in their native language. Phone messages will be checked several times during the school week, and a response will be provided to the caller in their native language.
For families who are more comfortable communicating by email, the school district can also receive questions written in the 6 different languages and return the answer in that language. Emails written in any of the 6 languages can be sent to oxriedera@bsd405.org.
The Parent Advisory & Action Committee believes all students function best in learning environments that value and encompass their diversity and support their social and emotional well-being. We hope the dedicated phone lines will help ease the transition for a majority of our international families and encourage parents to bring their concerns to the district.
PAAC’s goal is to increase family involvement for student success. If you know a family who has a question or concern and speaks a language that is not covered by the dedicated phone lines, we ask you to encourage them to contact a school administrator who will arrange for translation assistance.
If you have any questions, please contact Ann Oxrieder at the Bellevue School District, 425 456-4127 or oxriedera@bsd405.org.