April 3, 2024

Transforming Education: How West Ada School District Leads with Translation Devices

Tour of Champions: Meet West Ada

When you think of Boise, Idaho, the first thing that comes to mind likely isn’t a dense population, let alone a large population of multilingual language speakers. As it turns out, Boise has a long history of welcoming immigrants and refugees. In 2019, the city became a “welcoming city,” certified by Welcoming America, and committed itself to fostering a supportive community for these populations.

The West Ada School District, located within the city, is gaining recognition for its significant contributions to the education and support of its student population. It is the largest district in Idaho, with over 400,000 students across 58 schools. More than 40% of the students are Multilingual Learners (MLL), representing over 20 languages. The district faced the challenge of finding a translation service that met the needs of both its educators and students.

Enter Pocketalk. Check out the video below to see the immediate impact Pocketalk had within the school district.

Hometeam Advantage: Making an Impact

West Ada School District became the inaugural recipient of the Youth Changemaker Award for their significant contributions to their community and the work being done to foster inclusion among their large ESL/ELL student population. With 400 Pocketalk devices found across the district, they are directly addressing language barriers that have long existed in the community, which includes large immigrant and refugee populations.

A Warm Thank You to the Educators of Tomorrow

Thanks to the work being done by the West Ada School District, these young students are better equipped to flourish in their education and create bonds that will last a lifetime.

To learn more about how you can make an impact in your school district, we invite you to join our #AllSpokenHere initiative to create spaces where language is not an obstacle; it’s an invitation.

Let’s Get Social!

Check out our X, LinkedIn, and Instagram for more behind-the-scenes content, and share your thoughts using #Pocketalk and #AllSpokenHere. Let’s explore how we can transform language barriers into bridges for educational success.