School Board Briefs

Board updated on bilingual program

The school district’s coordinator for emergent bilingual programs, updated the school board on national attention received by the district for its use of the Timekettle X-1 Translation Hub for English learners.

Alyssa Betts told the school board that she was contacted by several school districts after Olney students and teachers were featured in a promotional video for Timekettle and in news reports.

Olney is one of the first school districts in the country to test the hubs, which consist of a small display unit and earphones.

Each device can translate for up to 20 users who speak up to five languages. The box’s display screen allows kids to choose which language or dialect they want to hear, and shows the teacher the text that it is translating for the students.

The district had 93 ESL students at the end of last year, with 33 of them either non-English speaking or limited English speaking, she said.