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By Harrison Gerson (‘21)
In June of 2020, a record number of 66 students from North Rockland graduated with the New York State Seal of Biliteracy on their diplomas. This prestigious honor demonstrates one’s aptitude for higher knowledge, linguistics, and cultural exploration. Their seals acknowledge that these students reached high proficiency levels in both English and one or more world languages.
Why should I earn a Seal of Biliteracy?
The NYS Seal provides the students an advantage during the college admission process. Only select students around the nation earn this honor. According to the NYS Education Department, in the Class of 2019, only 4,031 students in all of New York State earned Seals of Biliteracy. Plus, earning the Seal is a personal accomplishment. It affirms your confidence to travel the world and understand culture through language. In NRHS principal Dr. Gill’s words, “It’s a feather in your cap!” Gill explained, “The Seal of Biliteracy has two positives. It allows students to show they take their studies seriously and it demonstrates their dual language skills… it’s impossible to be a US and global citizen without being bilingual.”
How do I earn it?
Students earn their Seal by achieving 3 points in both of the following categories below. The process is relatively simple, and as an upperclassmen, you may already have completed some of the requirements. Most NR students complete the project during their junior or senior years if they take an accelerated world language class such as Advanced Placement (AP) or a SUNY Albany sponsored college course.
Photo courtesy of www.newtrier.k12.il.us
“The Seal of Biliteracy has two positives. It allows students to show they take their studies seriously and it demonstrates their dual language skills… it’s impossible to be a US and global citizen without being bilingual.”
“The Seal of Biliteracy has two positives. It allows students to show they take their studies seriously and it demonstrates their dual language skills… it’s impossible to be a US and global citizen without being bilingual.”
-Principal Gill
-Principal Gill
I personally plan to earn two Seals of Biliteracy with French and Spanish. I plan to have AP scores from each language, Regents scores (Checkpoint C for World Languages), and culminating projects. The culminating projects are nothing scary. Often, they are an extension of a project you do in class with your peers, guided by your teacher. For example, for a Spanish Seal, you may build upon a presentation done in class about the culture of the Dominican Republic or Ecuador, and an issue confronted there and here, such as education.
North Rockland encourages any student who is interested in language and culture to pursue a Seal of Biliteracy. With the support of our school, this goal is very achievable. At NR, we “make it happen!”
Spanish teacher and World Language Department Coordinator, Mr. Garcia will be making formal presentations on the Seal and its process starting on November 5th.
Students wishing to be part of the presentations and learn more may join the NRHS Seal of Biliteracy Google Classroom with the Code: d3cgush
This table from the NYS Education Department shows how to earn your 6 points (3 and 3) for a Seal of Biliteracy. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Garcia, Head of the World Language Department, at fgarcia@northrockland.org.
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