“I understand that sometimes the lack of action comes not from negligence but from simply not knowing,” Yesenia Quichimbo said during the pubic input portion of the Sag Harbor School Board meeting Monday night. “If no one is asking for bilingual staff or language access, it may seem like everything is fine.”
She and many other Spanish-speaking parents spoke to the board about the need for more bilingual staff in the district.
“When an English parent calls to request a dismissal change, they are able to do so in minutes,” Ms. Quichimbo said. “When a Spanish parent calls and doesn’t speak English, they are told ‘I don’t speak Spanish’ and no alternative is offered.”
Ania Quesada addressed the board in Spanish and Lissette Silva-Whelan translated to English. Ms. Quesada spoke about her own personal experience with the district as a non-English speaker. Her daughter is in second grade at Sag Harbor Elementary School and has a medical issue concerning frequent nosebleeds, so Ms. Quesada gets many calls from the school nurse. On many of these occasions, she has relied on her bilingual husband to translate.
“Sometimes if her husband isn’t around,” Ms. Silva-Whelan said in English, “she can’t really answer the call because she can’t communicate with the nurse.”
Ms. Silva-Whelan recalled being at a PTA meeting a few months ago, when she was asked to translate for a woman on the phone. Her child was supposed to go to an after-school program in Bridgehampton but instead was sent to the one at the Sag Harbor Elementary School.
“So imagine you’re at work and somebody calls you, ‘Come pick up your child it’s 5:15,’ and you can’t really leave work because you’re supposed to pick your kid up at 6:30,” Ms. Silva-Whelan said. “It’s a big problem because there was no way for them to understand each other, the mom doesn’t speak English and no one was speaking Spanish.”
Fortunately the PTA was meeting and Matt Malone, the elementary school principal, was able to pull Ms. Silva-Whelan out of the meeting to help resolve the issue.
Maribel Lopez told the board how one day she was dropping her kids off at school and saw a lost woman trying to find the Sag Harbor Learning Center. The woman tried to explain that to the staff in the lobby, to no avail. “I happened to be outside and I stepped in and ended up taking her to the learning center,” Ms. Lopez said.
Ms. Lopez also noted that the woman’s son seemed anxious about going inside, and Ms. Lopez did her best to encourage him. “If there was somebody outside speaking the language, then I think the little boy would have gone in with a smile on his face,” she said.
Last to speak was Michelle Liot, who came with a message in solidarity with the Spanish-speaking parents. “Our school has to be able to advocate and obtain support for their children’s educational experience,” she said. “The need has been expressed and I implore all those in power in our school to hear this need and take action.”
“Those are concerns that the administration shares as well and we really have prioritized trying to hire bilingual staff,” said Jeff Nichols, the district superintendent. “I know we can do better,” he added.
Mr. Nichols also spoke about his own children’s experiences in a dual language program in the Southampton School District, and while he noted that a similar program is “not a fit for the district right now,” it is looking into bilingual programs.
Additionally both Mr. Nichols and Sandi Kruel, the school board president, said that no matter the position, the district consistently seeks out a bilingual individual to fill it.
“I agree that we have to do better, but I just feel like it’s important just for me to say, and I’m sure I speak for the board on this, that we hear you,” Ms. Kruel said. “We understand your frustrations,” she added, “and your needs and we’re constantly working to improve those and we will continue to.”
“I think it’s also really helpful that you shared with us the very specific roadblocks,” said Jordana Sobey, the board’s vice president.