2024-01-24-ESTABROOK-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Minutes of the Site Council meeting January 23,2024 Attendees:Gerardo Martinez,Maris Joniec,Amy Klotz,and Ethan Wells Agenda -Agenda items /Greeting /Public speak -Parking Challenges II -General Updates -Comprehensive DESE Review -Budget -Staffing -Miscellaneous Public Speak Mr.Wells asked about Estabrook and the district’s policies on translation.He noticed that the recent Site Council survey on how parking affects parents’ability to participate at Estabrook relied on Google translate,as have communications from the Superintendent in the past.While Google translate is fine for something like a survey,Mr.Wells expressed concerns that it was problematic for more essential communication such as potentially controversial communications about,eg.,the Serious Talks curriculum.Translation from one language to another is never one-to-one;this means that a translator always has to choose between different possible translations.These choices are informed in part by extra-linguistic concerns such as the context of the communication,its intended effect,and so forth -all factors that something like Google Translate is unable to take into account.Moreover,because every translation requires decisions,there is also a question of responsibility:a human translator effectively says,“I stand behind my translation and attest that it is an accurate representation of what was intended in the original communique.”No one is doing that for a machine translation.No one knows whether it is accurate for this particular translation or that one,even if one has,in the past,found its translations adequate. As someone who is multilingual himself,Dr.Martinez agreed that translation is never one-to-one and therefore involves decisions made by the translator that are informed by extra-linguistic aspects outside of what might be entered into a Google Translate box.He noted that human translation services are available on-site or through a virtual platform for certain essential meetings,such as IEP meetings,administrative meetings dealing with especially important issues,etc.He also noted that English Learner (EL)teachers take the lead on establishing what works for individual families.That said,both Estabrook in particular and the District in general do rely on machine translation,whether Google Translate or other services available through apps,for less essential communications. Mr.Wells raised the question of whether criteria had been established to determine what counts as an essential communication requiring human translation as opposed to an inessential one for which,eg.,Google Translate is deemed adequate?If so,these criteria have not been publicized