Working with Language Interpreters to Better Serve Students and Their Families
Starts Feb 15, 2026
Full course description
Start Date
February 15, 2026
Price
$99
Credential
Digital Badge
Length
Self-paced
Commitment
8-10 Hours
Format
Asynchronous
Working With Interpreters to Better Serve Students and Families
Course Description
Schools today serve increasingly multilingual communities, and language interpreters play a crucial role in ensuring clear, respectful communication between educators and families. But most educators and administrators have never received formal training on how tocollaborate effectively with interpreters, and misunderstandings can lead to frustration, conflict, and inequitable experiences for students and families.
This course is designed for educators, administrators, counselors, front-office staff, SPED teams, nurses, and school leaders who want to build stronger partnerships with language interpreters in their schools. Through real-world examples, interactive scenarios, practical tools, and research-informed strategies, you’ll learn how to:
- Communicate respectfully and professionally across languages
- Structure meetings and conversations to support accurate interpreting
- Recognize the roles and ethical boundaries of school interpreters
- Build trust with multilingual families
- Avoid common pitfalls that can unintentionally cause tension or miscommunication
- Support equitable participation for all families—regardless of language background
Whether you work in the classroom, the front office, student services, or district leadership, this course will help you create a more inclusive, communicative, and collaborative school community.
Learning Objectives
- Identify and explain the professional role, responsibilities, and boundaries of educational interpreters in PK–12 settings and distinguish these from informal bilingual support to promote safe, ethical, and equitable communication.
- Describe the ethical principles that guide interpreter conduct in schools, analyze common school scenarios for potential ethical risks, and evaluate when interpreter ethics such as confidentiality, impartiality, respect, and transparency must be upheld.
- Apply best practices for working effectively with interpreters by demonstrating appropriate pre-session procedures, communication strategies, and interaction protocols, and by implementing educator behaviors that support clear, neutral, and accurate interpreted communication.
- Recognize when cultural or linguistic misunderstandings arise, interpret how professional interpreters ethically mediate these moments, and collaborate with interpreters in ways that support accurate communication while maintaining appropriate boundaries and preserving the voices of students and families.
Target Learner
This course is designed for Educators, Administrators, and Education Support Professionals
Related Courses
- Working with Language Interpreters for better outcomes: Training for Criminal Justice and Legal Professionals
- Working with Language Interpreters for better outcomes: Training for Educators, Administrators and Education Support Professionals
Meet the Course Developers
