MARYSVILLE — Since the fourth grade, Jessica Garcia has served as her father Mauricio’s ears and voice, so when it came time for her little sister, Sophia, to be registered for kindergarten this year, 12-year-old Jessica knew she would need to translate.

Fortunately, the Marysville School District’s kindergarten registration fair Jan. 30 not only had interpreters, but also served Mauricio more conveniently than when he registered Jessica for kindergarten nearly a decade ago.

Through Jessica, Mauricio explained that their family has lived in Marysville for 10 years.

“It was easier to find schools and get interpreters this year,” Mauricio said. “Because I have to work at certain times, I have to find schools where I can show up at the right times, and not get there late.”

Mauricio praised the quality and amount of information he received from school officials, while Jessica admitted that the fair’s efforts on behalf of families for whom English is a second language have made her life easier as well.

“He can’t talk with a lot of people, so I have to translate for him,” Jessica said. “We have lots more choices now.”

Wendy Messarina and Svetlana Pasonok, who serve as district coordinator for family engagement and parent/community liaisons, were on site as the Spanish and Russian liaisons, respectively. They served six Spanish-speaking families, two Russian-speaking families and one Punjabi-speaking family.

“We smiled, we welcomed families, we socialized, we interacted with kids and parents, and we took time to listen to all their questions, and get to know their families,” Messarina said.

Among the steps of the registration process that Messarina and Pasonok guided parents through were finding their schools, printing copies of their vaccinations and birth certificates, and even offering coloring pages to their children while they waited.

They even recruited five new parent volunteers, and as Messarina said, “We were really excited for that.”