Update on GEAR UP/IBM Traducelo Ahora Grant Program

The GEAR UP/IBM Traducelo Ahora grant, an internet-based Spanish-English translation program, is being implemented at four middle schools to evaluate its effectiveness in improving communication between families and schools. Successful communication between teachers and parents fosters parental involvement in school, which has been shown to increase academic success and positive student behavior. Project Coordinator Karla Lagunas is doing ongoing website orientations for families at school sites. As she explains, “The goal of this project is to help Spanish-speaking parents become an integral part of their children’s education by increasing interaction with their children’s teachers and by helping our schools and homes ‘talk’ consistently with each other.”

Four Southern California CSP schools were chosen based on their population of Spanish-speaking families and existing use of the Internet to outreach to parents.

As schools throughout California increasingly use email to convey information to students’ families, the immediate translation to Spanish through this program can be helpful to teachers. Emails are supplemental to the information traditionally shared through newsletters and parent conferences.

After registering online at www.traduceloahora.org, each participant, teacher or parent can use the site to translate website information or personal communications. The site translates from English into Spanish as well as from Spanish to English. The GEAR UP community is excited to have access to this internet resource. For more information, contact Project Coordinator Karla Lagunas by email: lagunask@gmail.com.