Covering Ground in Arkansas

Close to 100 Spanish, Marshallese and Karen speakers in Arkansas have received 40 hours of training as Professional Interpreters in Education. They earned an Interpreter Credential recognized by the Arkansas Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education and the Arkansas Department of Education Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). They will join a network of over 500 Professional Interpreters in Education who have received standardized and specialized training to support our English Learner families and schools.  
Our Language Services Division is Expanding!

We are thrilled to welcome Maria de la Sota as our Language Services Division Coordinator. An accomplished, motivated and experienced medical and educational interpreter (and former SeSo, Inc. student!), Maria supports all the school districts that rely on us for quality interpretation and translation services. Our professionals are specifically trained to work in early childhood and K-12 settings, and are ready to assist speakers of Arabic, Burmese, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Ewe, Farsi, French, Gujarati, Haitian-Creole, Hindi, Japanese, Karen, Korean, Laotian, Marshallese, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tamil, Thai, Urdu, and Vietnamese. 
Skill-Building and Practicing

Bilingual school personnel and independent contractors representing 16 states, 13 languages and 18 school districts are participating in our monthly Skill-Building Live Webinars and Practice sessions. Our colleagues have shared information about best practices for video and phone interpretation, navigating technical difficulties, and simultaneous interpretation during Special Education meetings. English Learner parents will volunteer their time to help us practice our consecutive interpretation skills and give us real-life and practical suggestions to improve our skills. 
Promoting the Power of Bilingualism

SeSo, Inc. participated in two major virtual career day events to promote the power of bilingualism among our youth! We joined close to 150 organizations in creating a virtual presentation for ninth grade students attending College and Career Ready Academy High Schools. We were thrilled to find out that, over 1,600 students fully completed the experience on the day of the event, and at some schools, up to 75% of students who participated changed their academy and career pathway choice based on the experience. We love talking to students about the cognitive and financial benefits of being bilingual and multicultural, and the professional opportunities for interpreters and translators.
In Great Company!
We are honored to be part of the Global Careers Series hosted by the Atlanta Global Studies Center, Georgia Tech and the Center for Urban Language Teaching & Research. We will be in great company with distinguished organizations such as The Carter Center, Peace Corps, U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Department of Commerce, and Care International. The cultural and linguistic bridges that are strengthened thanks to interpreters and translators are felt worldwide, and we can’t wait to share our experience as English Learners and cultural liaisons. 
Strengthening Our Network of Professional Interpreters in Education

We have a full house in our University of Georgia Professional Interpreter in Education Certificate course! Twenty-eight students representing nine states, are learning about language access and language justice in schools, diving into ethical dilemmas and practicing their interpretation skills in small groups. Thank you to the school districts that have made our courses mandatory for bilingual school personnel interpreting for English Learner families! 
Have You Seen Our Clearinghouse Lately?

We just added more free resources for our Professional Interpreters and Translators in Education and schools. Visit the Clearinghouse to find definitions of common Comprehensive Tests of Academic Achievement, best practices for remote interpretation, video clips to practice consecutive interpretation skills, common special education acronyms, and Google Classroom tutorials in Arabic, Burmese, Karen, Somali, Urdu, Portuguese and more!
The PhD Corner

According to Olszewski and Thomson (2010), students of color are underrepresented by as much as 55% nationally in gifted programs. Much of the research points to concerns around the assessment tools utilized in the identification process of gifted students. This is very similar to the concerns around the identification of English Learners with special needs, the use of assessment tools that are culturally biased, and the lack of qualified and trained interpreters that can support the process. If cultural bias exists within the makeup of the test questions, and if families are not given the opportunity to use their home language to provide valuable input about a child’s skills and abilities, an accurate portrayal of student abilities, whether they are strengths or areas of improvement, cannot be offered. I look forward to continuing my research to highlight the impact of qualified and trained interpreters and cultural mediators in education settings, and how they support the creation of culturally responsive settings. 
English Learner Parental Engagement Workshops

Our workshops are designed to give Educators, Parent Instructional Coordinators, Parent Liaisons, School Counselors and School Administrators, the tools needed to reach English Learner families and identify ways to create welcoming and inviting schools, while promoting parental involvement.
Cultural Humility Workshops

Through highly-interactive small group activities, we explore how cultural differences may impact the provider-client interaction and outcomes, and discover creative ways to strengthen cultural and linguistic bridges with diverse populations. Customized 2-hour, 4-hour or 8-hour workshops are available. 
Ana Soler, BSW, MPH - SeSo, Inc.