Ukrainian, Russian interpreters sought as Calgary school boards welcome hundreds of new students

The last few months at the Calgary Catholic School Districts' (CCSD) St. John's Reception Centre have been "hopping busy" as the team there works to welcome students who have fled the ongoing war in Ukraine into classrooms across the city this fall.

"On average, we're seeing anywhere between one to five students per day from Ukraine that are coming to our reception centre seeking the opportunity to learn here," said centre supervisor Jennifer Orr.

So far this summer, her team has registered more than 130 Ukrainian students.

Over at the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) they're preparing to welcome nearly 700 Ukrainian students this fall.

Interpreters available 

Both school boards say they know not all these families will understand or speak English just yet, so they've partnered with local organizations including the Calgary Bridge Foundation for Youth, as well as hired their own Ukrainian and Russian interpreters to help ease the transition.

"Those might be accessed during parent-teacher interviews, specific meetings and conversations that need to take place as well as to really build relationships with these families" said CBE education director for area three, Prem Radnhawa.

"We know that many of our families were forced to flee with very few belongings, and so applying that trauma-informed lens within the classroom and within that school environment is crucial, and in order to be able to provide a holistic sense of supports and services we know that providing translation services is important."

Recruiting underway

Both school boards say they continue to recruit both Ukrainian and Russian speaking interpreters to join their teams.

"We've definitely had to look at increasing the number of interpreters that we have in those languages," said Orr. "Typically, we haven't had a number of families that were Ukrainian or Russian speaking."

The interpreters will not be stationed at specific schools or in classrooms, but are available to families by appointment.