Athena Scribe
We connect parents to the documents their kids need translated, reviewed, before it’s too late
Overview
After our interviews we found that the main pain point among parents and staff was that there was no way to translate documents sent to them.
Schools struggle to provide accessible language support, creating administrative bottlenecks that pull educators away from the students and higher-impact initiatives that need them most.
Problem Statement
The Team
The MARG Team was created through our summer apprenticeship at BRIDGEGOOD, where we had 4 weeks to create an app for social good in our community.
We decided to go through the education route and created AthenaScribe for our community and also for us, as we all speak a second language at home.
Our Contributions
UI Lead ☆ Product Design ☆ Research ☆ Wireframing
UX Lead ☆ Product Design ☆ Prototyping ☆ Research
Product Lead ☆ Product Design ☆ Research ☆ Interviewer
Research Lead ☆ Product Design ☆ Interviewer ☆ Analytics
Project Coach
BRIDGEGOOD Coaches
Our Process
Originally, we were brainstorming and researching ways to help high school students access opportunities and mentorship as they transition into the career world. We decided to focus on the Oakland Unified School District and began contacting school board members and OUSD staff to schedule stakeholder interviews.
Original Problem Statement
Many first-gen students lack access to professional networks, mentors, or guidance when trying to navigate the career world. They often don’t know where to start looking or what opportunities even exist.
Our Shift to AthenaScribe
Outside of OUSD staff, we were able to conduct interviews with parents who have students in the district. After our interviews, we gathered all the information and found a main pain point and decided to redirect our original problem statement to what it is now.
There was a main complaint among the interviews that the app they use for school updates and messaging, ParentSquare, didn’t translate documents sent to parents. With research, we found that 50% of OUSD parents speaker another language at home and felt there was a need for more accessibility.
What we wanted to offer
Ability to scan and upload documents for translation
External storage for documents
Easy to navigate
Multiple language options
Ability to rate translations
How we offered
To offer translations to schools we had to be FERPA compliant, so any documents with identifying information could not be sent for AI translation. We modified where if the app detects a vital document, it is sent to the school’s admin for translation. The admin would have their own AthenaScribe interface for translating and sending back.
The Future
Compliance MVP
Phase 1: Vital document translation flow
Admin review gate
AI risk + vital-document classification
Audit trail
Translated forms and attachments
Pilot AI Automation
Phase 2: Work with our partner organization & the district to formalize the data agreement
Signed DPA
Pilot Program Launch
AI flags PII + vital documents
Auto-routes to admin review
Enterprise Platform
Phase 3: Roll out districtwide, so every immigrant family in this district gets the same access
Districtwide + multi-district rollout
Enterprise Security
