The Seal of Biliteracy
What is the Seal of Biliteracy?
On June 6, 2017, Governor Malloy signed Public Act 17-29, allowing a local or regional board of education to affix the “Connecticut State Seal of Biliteracy” on the diploma of students who have achieved a “high level of proficiency in English and one or more foreign languages.” The award will be recorded in students’ transcripts and put on their diplomas. Proficiency refers to the ability to use languages in real-world situations. Biliteracy, in this instance, refers to students’ ability to read, write, speak and listen at an established level of proficiency. Because the Seal of Biliteracy is now given in 49 states, many colleges and employers now know the value of it. To learn more about the Seal of Biliteracy nation go to www.sealofbiliteracy.org. Here is a great article about the benefits of the Seal of Biliteracy for students.
Why have a Seal of Biliteracy?
From the CT State Guidelines: The Seal of Biliteracy:
recognizes the value of students’ academic efforts, the tangible benefits of being bilingual and biliterate.
prepares students to be 21st century global citizens in a multicultural, multilingual world.
acknowledges that mastery of two or more languages is an asset for students and their communities.
recognizes English Learners (Els) for their work in learning English and maintaining their primary language.
shows universities and potential employers that a student has the ability to effectively communicate with people from two or more languages and cultures, both orally and in writing.
encourages all students to pursue proficiency in at least one language other than their native language.rewards students for their level of proficiency or mastery of a language, rather than focusing on how many years they have studied it.
Students who are “seal-eligible” when applying to colleges, may indicate this on their applications. Southern CT State University and Universty of New Haven have already agreed to give NHPS students college credit for languages if they enter with the Seal of Biliteracy.
Read the CT State Seal of Biliteracy Guidelines here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CYoqr1QeYjh28RhMuLIfAEnJkhirJIAn/view
How is it measured in Connecticut?
According to the Connecticut Seal of Biliteracy Guidelines (2017), all students are eligible to receive the Seal of Biliteracy based on evidence of achieving the designated level of language proficiency in English and one other language by high school graduation.
Two academic requirements must be met:
Students must complete all English language arts requirements for graduation. (There is no English testing requirement).
Students must demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English at a level comparable to “Intermediate-Mid” on the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines as demonstrated through one of a menu of nationally available tests.
These are very similar requirements to the rest of the country; wherever students go, the Seal will be recognized as representing at least a particular level of language skill. For many languages, the tests cost from $17.50-$20.00. For low-incidence languages, they range from $70-$150. This year, we will be using Title IVA grant funds to pay for students at Hillhouse and Wilbur Cross to test for the Seal.
For low-incidence languages, the school district may create their own “low-incidence” testing plan. NHPS will be collaborating with testing companies, Yale University, and the community in our implementation of low-incidence language testing.
What does it mean to be “Intermediate-Mid” proficiency?
The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines (2012) are the nationally accepted measure of language ability for higher education institutions and businesses. Students who receive the Seal of Biliteracy are able to communicate at the “Intermediate-Mid” level (or higher) on the Proficiency Guidelines. Someone at this level:
participates in spontaneous conversations on familiar topics, creating their own sentences and series of sentences while asking and answering a variety of questions.
understands the main idea and explicit details in everyday written and spoken materials in the language.
has good accuracy, perhaps with some errors that don’t affect their overall ability to communicate.
Students who are heritage/native speakers usually reach this level if they have been exposed to reading/writing practice. Students who learn a language in school can potentially reach this level by junior or senior year, if they reach the Level IV or AP level.
Check out this article: "What the Seal of Biliteracy can do for English Learners"
NHPS PRESS RELEASES
PRESS RELEASE: NHPS Seal of Biliteracy – Class of 2023
June 1, 2023
Last evening, over 300 New Haven Public School staff, students, and families held a Celebration of Graduates for students in the Class of 2023 who will be receiving the Seal of Biliteracy. This year, a total of 141 Seals will be awarded in 14 different languages, as noted in the chart below. The “Seal of Biliteracy-(language)” will be noted on students’ transcripts and an actual gold “seal” will be affixed to each student’s diploma. Last night, students also received purple cords to wear at graduation.
The Celebration of Graduates included several student performances of poetry, dance, and songs in various languages, by students from 3rd to 12th grade. A highlight included a keynote speech by James Hillhouse High School graduate Nour Al Zouabi, recipient of the Seal of Biliteracy in Arabic in 2019. Nour is graduating from UCONN this year and is headed to Yale University for her Masters in the fall.
In congratulatory remarks, Mr. Pedro Mendia, Director of the Multilingual Learners’ Department, encouraged students to maintain their mother tongues as well as the languages they learn at school. Jessica Haxhi, Supervisor of World Languages and organizer of the Seal of Biliteracy program in NHPS, shared research showing that 9 out of 10 employers rely on employees with language skills other than English and 56% say that demand will increase in the next five years. She emphasized the value of the Seal of Biliteracy for future career opportunities and college credit/placement, in addition to the many benefits of multilingualism in daily life.
After the celebration, students enjoyed snapping photos dressed in purple capes, holding signs that said “I’m bilingual. What’s your superpower?” Here is the program for the event, with a list of students and schools included. Here are photos from the event.
At all NHPS high schools, students who speak any language in addition to English are eligible and encouraged to test for the Seal of Biliteracy award. Here is more information about the Seal of Biliteracy in New Haven Public Schools. Here is more information about the Seal of Biliteracy nationwide.
Seal of Biliteracy Results - Class of 2022
New Haven Public Schools is happy to announce that 124 students in the Class of 2022 will receive the Connecticut State Seal of Biliteracy on their transcripts and diplomas. The seal was awarded to students in 11 different languages, including Spanish, Arabic, French, German, Chinese (Mandarin), Italian, Greek, Dari, Guajarati, Pashto, and Polish. Overall 202 students tested for the Seal of Biliteracy, which includes sections assessing speaking, listening, reading, and writing in languages other than English. This is a pass-rate of 61%. To date, NHPS has given the Seal of Biliteracy to 443 students in 23 different languages. We are especially committed to ensuring that our heritage and native speaking students who speak ANY language have the opportunity to test and be celebrated for their skills.
The Seal of Biliteracy Graduates were celebrated at a special in-person event on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. The event was opened with a video performance of the song "This is Me" from students in the Yale Morse Chorale , accompanied by native and heritage speaking students saying "this is me" in their languages. NHPS Chief of Staff, Dr. Michael Finley initiated the celebration and Mayor Justin Elicker congratulated all of the recipients, a bilingual Spanish-speaker himself. Mr. Joe Rodriguez, Deputy State Director from the Office of U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal brought greetings for the students from the Senator. Pedro Mendia, Director of the Multilingual Learners' Department, congratulated students as well. There were beautiful performances by Chinese students at Barack H. Obama School (video), two CT COLT Poetry Contest Winners from Nathan Hale School, and Spanish dance performance from students at New Haven Academy.
The Seal of Biliteracy program this would not have been possibly without these dedicated high school SoBL leads: Abir Zenait (ESUMS), Haruki Kubeta-Yonamine (Hillhouse), Jessica Domotor (HSC), Sam Marquez (Wilbur Cross), Candice Harrell (Hill Regional Career), Vandelina Esposito (Coop), Luis Rivera (NHA), Nilsa Matos (Sound), Joanna Lopez (MBA).
Seal of Biliteracy Results - Class of 2021
July 1, 2021
New Haven Public Schools is happy to announce that 118 students in the Class of 2021 will receive the Connecticut State Seal of Biliteracy on their transcripts and diplomas. The seal was awarded to students in 12 different languages, including Spanish, Arabic, French, German, Latin, Italian, Korean, Nepali, Turkish, Twi, Swahili, and Wolof. Despite the challenges of testing in our remote and hybrid environments this year, 177 students tested for the Seal of Biliteracy, which includes sections assessing speaking, listening, reading, and writing in languages other than English.
The Seal of Biliteracy Graduates were celebrated at a special online event on May 27, 2021. Superintendent Dr. Iline Tracey initiated the celebration and Ms. Yesenia Rivera, Board of Education President, offered inspiring words of congratulations to the graduates. We were also honored to receive greetings from State Representative Juan Candelaria. Mr. Joe Rodriguez, former NHPS Board of Education member and Deputy State Director for Senator Richard Blumenthal, introduced this video from the Senator. We also received this congratulatory video from Senator Chris Murphy. James Hillhouse High School student, Awa Modi, delivered a beautiful poem in French, introduced by Assistant Superintendent Dr. Whyte. Dr. Resha Cardone, former Chair of the World Languages Department at Southern Connecticut State University, also delivered congratulations to students and reminded them that SCSU offers 9 transcript credits for students entering with the Seal of Biliteracy. Pedro Mendia, Director of the Multilingual Learners' Department, congratulated students as well. The Seal of Biliteracy program this would not have been possibly without these dedicated high school SoBL leads: Abir Zenait (ESUMS), Haruki Kubeta-Yonamine (Hillhouse), Jessica Domotor (HSC), Sam Marquez (Wilbur Cross), Candice Harrell (Hill Regional Career), Vandelina Esposito (Coop), Luis Rivera (NHA), Nilsa Matos (Sound), Joanna Lopez (MBA).
Seal of Biliteracy Results Class of 2020
June 19, 2020
Per Connecticut Law, Public Act 17-29, school districts may affix the Connecticut State Seal of Biliteracy on the diploma of students who have achieved a “high level of proficiency in English and one or more foreign languages.” In order to receive the Connecticut State Seal of Biliteracy, students must complete all of their English language arts requirements for graduation and take a standardized test of language proficiency in the language(s) other than English.
New Haven Public Schools is happy to announce that The Seal of Biliteracy was awarded to 148 seniors in the Class of 2020. The “Seal of Biliteracy” will be noted on students’ transcripts. They also received a Seal of Biliteracy pin for graduation, and an actual “seal” was affixed to their diploma. Students received the Seal from nine high schools in 13 languages. Many of the students tested in their native or heritage language, in addition to some students who learned the language in New Haven Public Schools. Please see the chart below for more details. To view a video of the students who received the Seal, go here: https://youtu.be/V7TqX6XV-AM. This year, giving students the opportunity to take the standardized test in a language other than English was especially challenging. Before closure due to COVID-19, only 4 schools had completed their testing. Lead “Seal of Biliteracy” teachers at each of the schools made sure that students had the equipment, information, and logins they needed to access and take the online test at home. Over 70 students voluntarily participated in the testing since school closure in March. All testing was paid for by the Title IVA Student Success and Academic Enrichment Grant.
NHPS Seal of Biliteracy Results - Class of 2019
These are the results of Seal of Biliteracy Testing for the 2018-19 school year. We tested 106 seniors at James Hillhouse High School, Wilbur Cross High School, and The Sound School. The Seal of Biliteracy will be awarded to 47 students districtwide, in Arabic, Akateko, Mandarin, Pashto, Portuguese, Spanish, Swahili, Tamil, Turkish, and Twi. Students will have a notation on their transcripts and will receive a Seal of Biliteracy pin and an actual “seal” affixed to their diploma.
We also tested 142 juniors at the three high schools in Arabic, Bangla, Italian, Korean, Pashto, Spanish, Swahili, Turkish, and Twi. Of those students, 59 have already passed the test. Students who did not pass this spring may retake sections they missed when they return to school in September as long as they passed at least one of the four sections: listening, speaking, reading, writing. Another 45 students fall into that category, with a total potential pass rate next year of 77% if the retakes are successful. We are excited to celebrate these students and will continue to roll out the Seal of Biliteracy to other high schools during the 2019-20 school year.
NHPS Seal of Biliteracy Results - Class of 2018
The Seal of Biliteracy was piloted at Sound School in 2017-18 so that we could figure out the testing, crediting, and logistics. Of the 14 students who were tested, 6 passed for the Seal as seniors. Of the other 8 students, 1 was a junior who received the Seal the following year (2019). The total number of Seals awarded for 2018 was 6 students.