Bad educational interpreter...

CSign

CSign

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I'm looking for any thoughts and ideas you all may have. Long story short, my son had a bad terp last year (zero facial expression among other things). Obviously the facial expression was our biggest concern though. Went back and forth with the district, and ultimately he was stick with her the whole year. To make matters worse, it was his first experience working with an interpreter so it wasn't a good situation.
Her superior(s) both wholly acknowledged what she was lacking, and that she wasn't a "good fit" for my son.
Flash forward to this year, and the agency has placed her with another kindergartner. They are having the same problems we had last year. I'm trying to figure out my best course of action, because action needs to be taken.
She is not conveying any real language that can be discerned by her blank face. I've thought about the BBB, but that might be kind of tricky. She's not employed by a government agency.
I suppose the family could file a compliance complaint, but that won't prevent this agency from providing her with future employment with children. I'm not even convinced she should be working with deaf adults who have a solid command of language.

Any suggestions?
 
How does she manage to stay employed? If she's not qualified, why does the school district keep her on?
 
Reba said:
How does she manage to stay employed? If she's not qualified, why does the school district keep her on?
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Because she is cheaper to hire than a qualified terp who has certification(s).
 
I really don't know how she stays employed. I think part of it is that she is "fluent" in SEE, and SEE terps can be hard to find. She passed the test years ago, though how she actually passed is beyond me. I just don't want her to continue being placed with young children who are still developing language and learning. I really don't want her interpreting for anyone, but at least the adults would be able to say something about it. These kids only have us, and the districts that don't always act in the Childs best interest.
 
On paper she's "qualified." In real life, she is not...
 
I might be wrong, but in my opinion, I think SEE doesn't convey as much expressions as ASL does.
 
SEE maintains the same visual principles ASL does. That seems to be a fairly common misconception.

I don't want this thread to be derailed into a conversation about SEE. I'm trying to focus on what I can do to prevent this interpreter from working with children who have no control.
 
if you can determine she's unqualified, then you have legal ground. ironically, if an interpreter is used in a medical situation or legal situation without proper certifications in that AREA, that opens up legal cases.
 
Sadly this is a common occurence. The schools figure "better something than nothing" and you end up with under-qualified terps.
 
The best way I have found to have an impact in a school is to talk with other parents. When enough parents go to the school board and demand an issue be resolved, it is usually taken seriously.
This may mean some active campaigning on your part to get the other parents to feel involved. It may be a situation they have little or no interest in, but I found many parents who cared that I gave a darn, and joined in to support me. A school's PTA or PTO board throwing their opinion in behind you may also be very helpful. The school will take note that they should make no further effort to have this person hired to their educational system in the future.
 
I think going to the school board in this case wouldn't do anything. We are in two different districts, although the same county office. We could go to the County office, but that would still leave the interpreter open to go interpret in other counties (and that's best case scenario).

I thought about contacting the CA Dept of Education, but I don't think they'd be able to do much. The buck stops at the agency that is employing her. That's where I need to concentrate my energies. It's like a merry go round, every year a new kindergarten student has to deal with her the whole year. Kids shouldn't be stuck with a bad interpreter. Especially when the agency is aware of her limitations.
 
Who is in charge of hiring? This is the person that you and other parents should be going to. If you really feel strongly that children may not be getting what they need, keep up the pressure. You are doing a good job. If no one will deal with you, then the Media might be an option. Bringing a bad situation VERY public often gets results. This is another situation in which having lots of parents involved and supporting the idea would be helpful. Education needs to be kept at the forefront and not shoved into the background as just another budget cut.
 
If she's emploed via an agency - then you could try getting other parents as well as other local Hoh/Deaf people to flood the agency itself with politely phrased yet strongly worded letters regarding the "lack of real-life 'in situ' ability to interpret in a manner that is conducive to understanding or communication espeically in a "learning environment where the students are minors and as such unable to advocate for their own accessibility rights in a manner which incites change for the benefit of that minor", and then cite specifics such as "void of key and critical facial expressions fundamental to contextual understanding of a Signed Language".

Pressuring the agency to either have her take additional training (facial expression etc) or release her (and have on record the reason for it) without providing a positive reference for future employers - if coming from enough of the community and espeically from people who are Hoh/Deaf (or relatives of) themselves will have a huge impact. An agency that is being told by it's users or potential users "we will not accept this quality of service from YOU, the agency" - speaks volumes.

I'd certainly give it a try ...
 
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