Support Services
Who do MCLWs support?
- Multicultural Liaison Workers are available to support students, families, and school personnel by facilitating communication in spite of linguistic or cultural differences.
- Liaison between school, family, and community to help school personnel understands the concerns and needs of each community.
For Students
- Help students understand the school system and derive from it the maximum benefits.
- Assist and support students, individually or in groups, with cultural adjustment and social/emotional issues.
- Provide lay counselling in a variety of situations that may arise due to cultural differences.
- Work cooperatively with school-based personnel to enhance the student's full development in the school system.
For Parents
- Help parents understand the Vancouver school system.
- Encourage parents to participate in their children's education.
- Enhance communication between home and school through linguistic and cultural interpretation.
- Work together with school personnel and other professionals in the provision of cross-cultural counselling, parenting and other programs, and in encouraging families to seek other professional and community services when necessary.
For Schools
- Help the school personnel provide orientation for families and students when they first enter the school system.
- Assist in determining the fluency and accuracy of student's first languages.
- Help identify and offer suggestions for meeting the needs of ELL students.
- Help plan programs to suit students from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.
- Help schools share concerns with parents regarding their children.
- Provide school personnel with information on the various cultures represented in their schools, and community resources to support them.
- Provide consulting and interpreting services.
For the Community
- Keep the Vancouver School Board informed of community concerns.
- Represent the Board in community organizations and at community functions, upon request by the Board, and when possible.
- Inform community groups of the resources in the school system that can help their members in their transition to Canadian life.
How many languages are available?
Services and support available in the following languages:
- Chinese (Cantonese/Mandarin)
- Filipino/Tagalog
- Hindi/Punjabi
- Korean
- Spanish
- Vietnamese