You may be one of the millions of parents who now find themselves playing the role of substitute teacher. So Newsy did some homework and asked the experts: What should bilingual families do if they feel like they need additional resources?
“Please do not hesitate to reach out to teachers," said Michigan fourth grade teacher Kim Huls. "I know some of the parents in my building who are not as comfortable speaking English, they don't want to call me because they, you know, there's such that language barrier and it's difficult for us to understand each other. But know that like you are, nine times out of 10, going to feel better once you reach out."
“The best website that I will recommend at this time is called Colorín Colorado," said Diego Román, assistant professor at The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education. "That website has short stories and different resources, bilingual resources, that parents, or teachers, even, can use to supplement the type of activities that they are providing to their children or students at this time.”
“Don't just assume because the materials are coming in, or coming home, not in your native language, that you don't have the opportunity to advocate and say, ‘Hey, we would actually like to work with our students, so if we could have any material in the native language, I would really appreciate that,’” said Jennifer Jessie, a tutor in Virginia.
