<div dir="ltr"><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/a-new-marker-of-success-at-graduation-the-seal-of-biliteracy/2017/06/02/240c79ce-46da-11e7-bcde-624ad94170ab_story.html">https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/a-new-marker-of-success-at-graduation-the-seal-of-biliteracy/2017/06/02/240c79ce-46da-11e7-bcde-624ad94170ab_story.html</a><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"><b>A new marker of success at graduation: The seal of
biliteracy</b><span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">By Donna St. George</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"><i>Washington Post</i><span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">June 5, 2017</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><font color="#000000">Max Moss started st</font><font color="#0e0e0e">udying Spanish in sixth
grade and never stopped. He learned to speak the language, read it and
understand conversations. By the time he hit 12th grade, he knew enough to
reci</font><font color="#000000">te 13th century poetry and write his senior thesis in Spanish.<span></span></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">This week, as he graduates from high school, he
will be among the first Maryland students recognized for his linguistic
achievement under a new state program.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">The teenager and hundreds of others in the
state are getting a <a href="http://marylandpublicschools.org/about/Pages/DCAA/World-Languages/Biliteracy/index.aspx">“seal of
biliteracy”</a> with their diplomas for showing high levels of
proficiency in English and another language. The idea comes from a national
initiative that has picked up momentum, with <a href="http://sealofbiliteracy.org/faq#n293">more than two dozen states</a>
and the District of Columbia embracing it during the past six years.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">“I think it’s awesome,” said Moss, 18, who
graduates from Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville on Thursday. “It’s
nice to be recognized. I took it seven years, and I put a lot of work into it.”<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">Educators say they hope the recognition sends a
broader message about the value of language learning, giving a boost to
students who excel in a foreign language as well as those who arrive speaking
foreign languages and then learn English.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">“It may be one of the game changers that will
help us turn the tide in this country and help us focus on raising a
multilingual citizenry,” said Marty Abbott, executive director of American
Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">Maryland lawmakers passed legislation to create
the program in 2016, and it has taken shape in the months since then. Seven of
the state’s 24 school systems signed on for this graduation season, including
those in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. More are expected to follow.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">“We see enthusiasm for adding it in other
counties,” said Susan Spinnato, director of instructional programs for the
Maryland State Department of Education.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">With graduations in full swing, the state’s
largest school system, in Montgomery, is bestowing the honor on 770 students
this year. As many as 1,000 others could also be eligible after graduation as a
result of Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) test
scores that will come out this summer.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">“It’s a good number for the first year, and I’m
hoping that the numbers will grow exponentially,” said Francoise Vandenplas,
the school system’s world languages supervisor.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">Vandenplas said the program rewards the hard
work of becoming biliterate and underscores the value of native languages. It
also may help colleges as they place students in courses, or provide future
employers with an indicator of language skills, she said.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"><a href="http://marylandpublicschools.org/about/Documents/DCAA/World-Languages/biliteracy/MSDEACTFLAlignedAssessments.pdf">To qualify </a>for the honor, students must do well on the state’s standardized English
exam as well as language tests approved by the state. On an AP language exam,
for example, Maryland requires a score of 4 or 5 on a five-point scale.
Criteria for the seal vary by state; in neighboring Virginia and D.C., for
instance, AP exam scores must be a 3 or higher.<span></span></font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">Gabriella Armonda, 18, who graduates Friday
from Northwood High School in Silver Spring, said she only learned of the honor
at her school’s senior academic awards night, when she and other students were
recognized.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">She had started in a Spanish immersion program
in kindergarten.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">“It means a lot because language is something
that has always been important to me,” she said. “I think it will definitely
help throughout my life.”<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">In Prince George’s, 79 students earned the seal
of biliteracy this spring and were celebrated at an awards night in late May.
More could qualify this summer based on AP and IB exam results.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">“It’s powerful to speak another language,” said
Maria Flores, supervisor of world languages for Prince George’s schools. “That
opens new doors for students in job searches and at universities.”<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">For Makafui Dzeze, 18, valedictorian for the
class of 2017 at Central High School, the seal validates her long experience
with French. She started at age 3 in the West African nation of Togo and
enrolled in a French immersion school in Prince George’s in fourth grade.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">She is one of 13 graduates of the French
immersion program at Central High. All received the seal.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">Dzeze said she views the honor as an
accomplishment but says the program needs to be more widely publicized, so that
students undertand the value of having another language and also know what it
takes to earn the seal of biliteracy.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">When she told a friend about it, she said, he
congratulated her but asked: “What is that?”<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">Del. Ana Sol Gutierrez (D-Montgomery) said she
pushed for the program for three years and has been heartened by how many students
are qualifying right away. “It’s a huge step for recognizing the value of
multilingualism,” she said.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">Virginia officials say they awarded more than
5,200 seals of biliteracy last year, when their program rolled out.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">Suzette Wyhs, world languages supervisor in
Loudoun County schools, recalls a national conference in 2009 or 2010 when the
idea bubbled up, with California then passing legislation in 2011. D.C.
followed in 2014, then Virginia in 2015.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">This year, Loudoun will award more than 200
seals of biliteracy, with many English language learners qualifying, she said.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">“I expect the numbers to go up as the public
becomes more aware of this,” Wyhs said, pointing out that the learning goes far
beyond vocabulary and sentence formation.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">“Students who get to this level of language
come to understand the people who speak the language, their practices, their
belief systems,” she said. “It really is more than just words. It even changes
their thinking and perspective and the way they see the world.”<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">Other Washington-area school systems have also
embraced the program. In Fairfax County, about 3,500 students earned the honor
last year. There were also 95 recognized students in Alexandria, 529 in
Arlington and 79 in Prince William, according to state data.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">The D.C. school system started its program in
2014-15, with 11 students earning seals. This year, 64 qualified, and 11 more
could qualify if pending<b> </b>test scores meet the mark.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">At Richard Montgomery High, where Moss studied
Spanish, 120 students are receiving the honor this year. The school has an
International Baccalaureate magnet program that emphasizes global learning and
language.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">“They were very excited,” said Maria Solernou,
head of the world languages department. “They work very hard for many years. It
is not easy to read well in two languages, and these exams are not simple. They
are very rigorous.”<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">Moss, who plans to attend Stanford University
and hopes to one day work as a doctor, said he would like to to continue his
language interests with a study-abroad program in a Spanish-speaking country.<span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">“I hope to be fluent in Spanish my whole life,”
he said. Language, he said, could shape his career. “I would love to provide
medical care in Spanish-speaking areas,” he said. “Even in the United States,
there are a lot of people who would benefit from having a doctor who speaks
Spanish.”<span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></span></p>
</div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">****************</font></div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br clear="all"></font><div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Scott Wible</font><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Associate Professor of English</font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Director, Professional Writing Program</font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">University of Maryla</font>nd</div><div>1220C Tawes Hall</div><div>College Park, MD 20742</div><div><a href="mailto:swible@umd.edu" target="_blank">swible@umd.edu</a></div></div></div></div></div></div>
</div>