Client overview

Organization: Grayslake Community High School District 127
Industry: Education
Audience: 2,700 students across 2 high schools
Languages needed: Spanish, Ukrainian, Gujarati, Tagalog, and others

The challenge

Grayslake District 127 had a growing population of multilingual learners—students who spoke little or no English and struggled to follow classroom instruction. The district had limited access to bilingual teaching assistants and faced logistical, staffing, and equity challenges.

Pain points

Unavailable human support

Teachers previously relied on human interpreters sitting beside students in class. But staffing those roles at scale was “nearly impossible,” especially with more than 200 multilingual learners projected to rise to 270 next year.

Classroom disruption

Even when available, in-person interpreters altered the learning environment. “It’s understandably obtrusive to have an adult sitting next to a kid translating out loud,” said Christopher Thieme, Director of IT at Grayslake District 127.

Lost instructional time

Students often had to first develop English language skills before meaningfully engaging with the curriculum—especially in subjects like math and science where immediate understanding was critical.

Patchwork solutions

Translation tools were fragmented. Staff used Google Translate on tablets for documents and Pocketalk for one-on-one conversations, but there was no cohesive solution for live, ongoing instruction.

The solution

Grayslake turned to Sorenson Forum to provide real-time, low-disruption translations and captions directly in the classroom.

How it worked

Flexible language access

Students selected their preferred language on a Chromebook or phone and followed live translations of classroom instruction in audio and captions—starting on day one of enrollment.

Device agnostic

Students used their school-issued Chromebooks or personal mobile devices. Phones often handled the translation stream, freeing Chromebooks for schoolwork.

Scalable across classes

Forum supports simultaneous use by multiple students in the same classroom and across multiple classrooms at once—for example, Grayslake has run sessions with seven students in one class while other classes used it at the same time, without extra staff or hardware.

Quick setup

With minimal training, teachers and staff created sessions supporting 45 languages and dialects in just minutes, replacing hours of interpreter scheduling.

The results

Immediate access to learning

Students no longer had to wait to learn English before joining academic instruction. Forum provided an instant on-ramp to comprehension and engagement.

Improved teaching flexibility

Teachers controlled when to launch sessions and whether to capture transcripts, helping them adapt Forum to their lesson plans.

Stronger inclusion

Multilingual Coordinators reported high trust in Forum, citing its ability to serve students who otherwise had “nothing.” As Christopher Thieme put it:

“This is a resource that allows us to give kids who have nothing a chance at immediately engaging in learning.”

Roadmap for expansion

Next up: using Forum in large gatherings like parent events and assemblies. Administrators plan to offer QR codes so families can hear district leaders in their own languages.

“Forum didn’t just reduce translation gaps—it changed what was possible. For the first time, we have a scalable, respectful, and accessible solution that fits the classroom.”
— Christopher Thieme, Director of IT

Why choose Sorenson Forum?

• Scalable for classrooms: Works for 1:1 instruction, full-group lessons, or school events
• Easy to use: No training required—just share a link and start.
• Minimizes classroom disruption: Students follow instruction quietly on their own devices
• Day-one access: Supports learning from the start in 45 languages/dialects—no wait for fluency or interpreters

Ready to bring inclusive, real-time translation to your school or district?

Visit or schedule a demo today