Office of Language Services

The Language Services team assists our families who are non-English speakers and provides communication assistance to the district.  Our mission is to ensure that all EL parents are given a meaningful opportunity to participate in their child’s educational program. The United States Department of Education, the Office of Civil Rights, and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division all mandate public schools to provide free, qualified language assistance to parents and guardians with limited English proficiency.

When new families enroll in Henry County Schools, our team provides language support for families from the Welcome Center to the school.  Schools receive support from the team through translation (written communication) and interpretation (oral communication.)  We currently serve over 25 different languages throughout our district.  The most identified languages for the 2023-2024 school year are Spanish, Vietnamese, French, Chinese, and Haitian Creole.

Our team strives to create opportunities for learning by assisting families so they can have meaningful participation in their children’s education.  We provide assistance with enrollment, affidavits, referrals to other district departments such as Exceptional Student Education and English as a Second Language, translations of documents (written communications), interpretation services (oral communications) and Language Line access.

Personalized assistance is available for all families at our Welcome Center. We offer a one-stop-shop approach for families to ensure a seamless transition into the school district at any point before or during a school year. Along with assistance from the Language Services team, the center is equipped with kiosks and a 3-way conferencing system to assist English Learners (EL) families with language services.  Our staff can assist Spanish and French speakers and, through the use of Language Line, we can provide assistance to speakers of other languages.   

District Language Tool - Language Line

One of the various tools that supports our district communication is Language Line Solutions.  Each school and district department has access to using Language Line to assist our non-English speaking community.  Language Line provides on-demand access to more than 14,000 professional interpreters in 240-plus languages. This tool can be used for walk-ins, phone calls, conference calls, emergencies, and meetings.

Our commitment is to make families feel welcomed and promote a sense of belonging. Effective communication between families and schools is essential for establishing trust, reducing conflict, decreasing family stress levels, and creating student academic and social success.