District staff outlines Title III-funded tutoring, translation tools and plans for adult ESL

Erica Cashman, a district staff member, reported to the West Bridgewater School Committee on Nov. 4 that the district has been using Title III funds to expand tutoring, summer programs and materials for multilingual learners and families.

Cashman said an eight-week spring program in 2024 focused on numeracy for 19 students and a five-week summer program served rising kindergarteners, with nearly full attendance and grant-funded door-to-door transportation. She said a current 12-week after-school English language development program is running at Rosel for grades 1–2 (with occasional third-grade attendance) and is taught by a teacher funded through the grant.

Cashman listed program purchases paid from Title III, including bilingual novels (Wonder in Portuguese, Spanish and Haitian Creole), progress-monitoring materials and “Pocketalk” translation devices for offices and the nurse’s and guidance offices to support ad hoc parent-staff conversations. She said the devices have eased communication in the front office while the district works to ensure professional interpreter use for higher-impact documents.

The presenter warned that Title III cannot be used to pay for districtwide legally mandated translations (for example, IEPs or report cards) because of supplanting rules; those obligations come from federal civil-rights responsibilities and guidance from the U.S. Department of Justice, she said. Cashman urged the committee to plan for professionally trained interpreters for certain documents and settings to avoid citations other districts have faced for relying on untrained interpreters or tools like Google Translate.

Cashman gave enrollment figures and classroom impacts: 51 active multilingual-language (ML) students districtwide, including 20 newly arrived students; site counts included 18 at Rosel, nine at Howard, 20 at the middle/senior high school and four at Spring Street (which includes two kindergarten and two pre‑K students). She said 67% of ML students are newcomers or foundational learners and that these students require substantial instructional support from both ESL and general-education teachers.

Committee members discussed professional development (SEI refresher training), staffing needs and the importance of using remaining FY24 Title III funds to ensure FY25 eligibility. Cashman said the consortium has funds for some PD and events and that the district will continue to pursue partnerships (Bridgewater State University and North River Collaborative) for teacher candidates and program delivery.

The committee did not take formal action on the presentation; members asked Cashman to continue work on interpreter training options and to present PD and staffing recommendations as part of upcoming budget discussions.