Baldwin-Whitehall School District: Talking Points Enables Parent-Teacher Communication Across Languages

Press release from the Baldwin-Whitehall School District:

December 17, 2020

One of the distinctives of the Baldwin-Whitehall School District is the rich cultural diversity students and their families bring. Over 30 languages are spoken in households in the District and students come from over 40 birth-countries.

The District is committed to serving each family in our community. Marissa Gallagher, Director of Student Services, shares, "Student engagement begins with effective communication." That's why the District is delighted to announce Talking Points. This multilingual technology platform connects and empowers families and teachers by using human- and AI-powered, two-way translated communication and personalized content. This unique approach eliminates barriers including language, time, mindsets, and capacity to foster strong family engagement in development of students' academic success.

During this pilot phase, the Talking Points application is available to all faculty and only BW families in which Nepali is their first language. 658 current District students report Nepalese as the language spoken at home. This tool will strengthen the partnership between parents and educators. Teachers and parents can now seamlessly send messages across languages, opening up organic dialogue and meaningful correspondence. Gallagher shares that parents are now able to ask questions they've always wanted to ask, but couldn't previously.

The program was an initiative of Project One, a group of community organizations who come together monthly to discuss and advocate for issues affecting the community. Gallagher chairs Project One for the District and explains that the group has assisted with formation of women's groups, equity training, and student summer camps. Members of the community identified communication as one of its biggest priorities.

The response to Talking Points has been overwhelmingly positive. Jean Williams, Social Worker at Harrison Education Center, calls Talking Points a godsend and notes that it is already forging stronger relationships that will better serve our students and their families.

Published 12/17/2020

This press release was produced by the Baldwin-Whitehall School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.