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Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo, standing, third from left, poses with the first graduates of Salem’s American Sign Language course for city employees. Salem also offers Spanish language courses for interested city staff.
On Nov. 15, city staff in Salem graduated from the city’s first American Sign Language class for employees. Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo announced the graduation through social media.
The interest in developing an American Sign Language class came out of all-staff meetings, Pangallo said, as staff had indicated in a survey that they would be interested in taking ASL classes.
Pangallo said the ASL classes are “a way for us to help meet our accessibility goals, to be able to serve the public and connect with all of our community members.”
Salem also offers Spanish language classes to city employees, a program that has been popular among staff since its inception. Pangallo, who previously served as chief of staff for then-Mayor (and current lieutenant governor) Kim Driscoll, said that he tried to enroll in the classes a number of times, but found that they were already at capacity due to their popularity.
The impetus for the language classes “came about because we do have such a high percentage of Spanish-speaking community members,” Pangallo said. Having more staff who can speak Spanish increases Salem’s ability to provide services to all residents.
Offering language classes, Pangallo said, also gives staff “opportunities for professional development, personal growth, and a chance to socialize with colleagues that they might not have seen.”
The language instructors are “experts, professionally trained to be able to instruct students in Spanish or ASL,” Pangallo said.
The city hired local instructors for Spanish classes in an effort to include the Spanish dialects predominantly spoken in Salem. For ASL classes, the city looked regionally to find interpreters who specialize in instruction. All instructors are paid a stipend for their services.
The Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing offers interpretation services to municipalities, but wait times for service can be impractical due to a national shortage of ASL interpreters. On-demand ASL interpretation services are also available through third-party vendors, but many municipalities do not have contracts in place for these services.
Salem is already exploring additional employee education programs inspired by feedback from staff. Pangallo said the city is working to develop a GIS training program for staff in the near future.
The response, Pangallo said, has been overwhelmingly positive, from both staff and residents. Through the classes, city staff have become more self-sufficient and confident in their own abilities.
“Employees who have or need access to that information can do it on their own,” Pangallo said. “Employees are self-empowered, instead of having to rely on a small number of people with those skills, and we’re not having to tie up resources or time.
“It’s very powerful to be able to communicate and connect with community members when they come to the counter or door,” he said, “and you’re able to reply, even if to say, ‘I don’t speak much Spanish, but I’m able to connect with someone who does.’”