Many private K-12 schools have communities of Spanish-speaking students and families. When you want to connect better with students and families who speak Spanish or other languages at home, having the right tools available is crucial. The customization offered by TADS gives schools more flexibility to support multilingual families during the admissions process.

The 4 Benefits of a Bilingual Admissions Software

The 4 Benefits of a Bilingual Admissions Software

The admissions process is one of the first interactions students and families will have with your school. While they might have researched your school, spoken to representatives, or attended events for prospective students, filling out your admissions applications will help them understand more of what it is like working with your staff daily.

Many schools aim to streamline this process to provide families and students with a positive first impression. Providing bilingual admissions software in schools can improve this experience for students and families that speak another language at home.

1. Streamline and Simplify Processes for Families

Many multilingual individuals are more comfortable reading and writing in their native language or another alternative language to English. Providing a multilingual approach to admissions helps families feel more comfortable filling out various essential paperwork and application details. They can quickly work through multiple forms and fill out the information more accurately because they can better understand what you are asking.

2. Connect More With Families and Students

Offering other languages during admissions can help you learn more about your potential students and families, giving you the time to prepare resources and assistance. You might ask students to share more about their culture on applications, so you can understand the role their families will take in their education. When you learn more about students, you can provide more personalized education and interactions that support their expectations.

Your multilingual admissions process can also be an excellent opportunity to implement factors from other cultures, like celebrations and holidays. If they are part of a larger community already established at your school, you can pair families with others or a volunteer liaison to help them adjust and receive assistance.

3. Introduce Them to Communication Efforts

Because the admissions process is so early in their relationship with you, many administrative teams use this as an opportunity to establish communication standards and methods. You might have preferred channels and hours to relay to families. With multilingual families, you can also highlight that you have the required tools to engage with them and assist them. You might introduce interpreters, apps, and other resources, so they understand how you can support their needs.

4. Establish Trust and Empathy With Families

When you implement tools to communicate and connect with families and students in several languages, you show that you care about their preferences and standards. Families can see that you respect them, their cultural background, and their language preferences. These interactions help families trust you and build more positive relationships with them and their students, impacting future involvement with your school community.

How to Use Technology to Engage With Multilingual Families

Using technology like TADS language options can help you leverage technology to engage and connect with multilingual families at your school. You have several tactics you can deploy to use your available technology to both of your benefits. Understanding what you can do to improve technology use can strengthen your efforts in the upcoming admissions seasons.

1. Offer Translators and Interpreters

Online translation and interpretation services are powerful tools when working with families. Connecting your multilingual families and students with the right individuals through technology can help them receive assistance from their homes as they work through admissions applications. These individuals can provide translated documents and instructions or sit in on phone calls, video chats, and meetings with faculty and staff members.

While it is important for your multilingual families to connect with your translators and interpreters, you also need them when creating content in other languages. Quality translators and interpreters can help you make online information more reliable and accurate. You can expand communication efforts beyond your application to newsletters, progress reports, and other resources.

2. Provide FAQs and Video Tutorials in Several Languages

With the help of your interpreters and translators, you can create extensive online resources for your multilingual families to refer to during the admissions process. FAQ pages are great ways to answer questions without waiting for a time when your admins, interpreters, and families are available. They can quickly discover information about common problems and concerns, further streamlining the admissions process.

Additionally, you can help them understand the various tools and platforms you’ll use throughout the admissions process with video tutorials dubbed in their preferred language. You can walk them through how to use TADS admissions software and other systems, like student portals, grading systems, and payment platforms.

3. Set up Facebook Pages for Different Languages

Families prefer to receive information in many ways. Social media is an excellent way for families to connect with schools and community members. They can ask questions, get announcements, and learn more about the school and its student population. Many schools create Facebook pages so they can monitor and control activity. Offering options in different languages helps give schools a space to release content in other languages and connect families with others from the same culture.

4. Outline Resources and Support

When preparing for multilingual families to start the admissions process, clarifying the resources you have available is vital. Technology is complicated for many people, and bugs or errors can prevent families from efficiently completing and submitting forms and documents. Highlighting places they can go for help, especially if they prefer a language other than English, is essential for cultivating a positive first impression and relationship with them.

As you launch multilingual content and options this admissions season, consider helplines and technology support. Your interpreters can be great resources when working with third-party tech support lines, but you might also consider establishing internal help systems families can turn to for help. Translator apps can allow families to communicate directly with administrators, teachers, and technology teams at your school for more efficient help.

Increase Language Availability With Community Brands Solutions

Increase Language Availability With Community Brands Solutions

Having comprehensive language choices in your admissions process is essential when working with multilingual students and families. TADS designs school software solutions for private K-12 with features catered to your industry and needs.

Our admission and enrollment solution gives schools increased customization to upload designs and features that will help your school stand out, from colors and logos to names, helping increase brand recognition. With automated application tracking, administration and families can understand where they are in the application process and determine the next steps. Families will receive reminders tailored to their needs, and faculty members will get notifications about when they should reach out to individuals.

TADS offers multilingual students and families more support and resources. Depending on your school’s needs, you can expand services beyond the admissions process to financial aid assessments and tuition and billing management. Each service offers centralized data and increased visibility for a better understanding of your community’s needs and better resources for families.

Request a demo today and discover how you can support multilingual families with TADS.