Parent/Teacher Communication

Many families from Guatemala in the United States do not speak Spanish

Dear Ellie,
I am so confused!
I have a little girl named Naya in my kindergarten class who is an English learner.  She moved here from Guatemala.  Her English is coming along nicely, but I need to communicate with her parents about an upcoming field trip.  She is the only one who has not turned in her permission slip.  
I took Spanish throughout high school and for two years in college, so I planned out what I wanted to say and called the number we have on file.
Much to my surprise, I didn't get very far.
I repeated myself slowly and clearly in Spanish several times, to which the person on the other end of the phone simply repeated, "no."
Is my pronunciation that bad?  Does the family speak another dialect of Spanish or something like that?  Or did I just have the wrong number?  
Thanks for your help,

Crossed Signals,
Kennedy Elementary
Lantana, Florida

Grice's Maxims of Conversation.  You can't live without them!

Dear CS,
I commend you on your efforts to use your second language skills to communicate with your student's family.  
I feel fairly confident that I have your answer!
I see that you live in Florida, in Palm Beach County.  There is a large population of Guatemalans that come to the area to work the crops.  It is very possible that Naya is from one of these families.  They often live in small homes set up on the outskirts of the farmland. 
I'm sure your Spanish is ship-shape.  The problem is, they probably do not speak Spanish.  
You see, there are twenty one Mayan languages and two non-Mayan languages (Xinca and Garifuna) spoken in Guatemala.  While Spanish is considered the national language, approximately 40% speak their native Indian tongue.
If you have already spoken to your administration about this (they may have a designated translator) and that didn't get you very far, I have a good resource for you.  It is even in your area! 
The Guatemala Maya Center is in Lake Worth Florida, your neighbor, and they are a charitable organization whose purpose is to help families just like Naya's!
Here is a link to their website:  http://www.guatemalanmaya.org/

References

Dog cartoon.  Retrieved from
http://www.esljokes.net/images11-20/dogjoke440.gif

Finegan, E. (2011). Language: Its Structure and Use (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth

Cengage

Guatemalan Girl photo. Retrieved from

https://carolyntravels.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/dsc_0399.jpg

Guatemala Maya Center Website. Retrieved from
http://www.guatemalanmaya.org/

Nations Encyclopedia, Guatemala.  Retrieved from
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Guatemala.html