Omaha School District Hiring High School Students As Translators

    Omaha Public schools are facing staff shortages and have turned to bilingual high school students to fill a need for interpreters for parent-teacher conferences.

     The Omaha district has some full-time bilingual liaisons, but students in the district and their families speak more than 100 different languages and over 18,000 students have received services for limited English speakers at some point.

      Lisa Utterback, the district’s chief student and community services officer, told the Omaha World-Herald that the district has contracted with 20 students as interpreters.

      The students are paid $18 an hour to help with middle and elementary school conferences.