The Seal of Biliteracy at CVSD
Contributed by: Johanna Shaw-Daniels, Robyn Suarez,
Susan Simpson, and Melita Sedic-Lawton
The Seal of Biliteracy is a fairly new award given by the Vermont Foreign Language Association, under the authorization of the Agency of Education. It recognizes students who have studied and attained proficiency in two or more languages by high school graduation.
Since 2020, CVU High School has had two recipients of this award, and our program is growing. This year, so far, we have five seniors graduating with this award. In CVSD's elementary and middle schools, there are approximately 30+ active participants working towards this achievement through our Pathway to the Seal of Biliteracy program. The Pathway program is designed specifically for our younger multilingual students, with classes focusing on their heritage languages.
This year, classes are being offered at WCS in Nepali, Chinese, Russian and Vietnamese. Some of these classes will be offered at SCS as well. At the high school, students are participating in French and Spanish classes, forming conversational groups in the CLD Center, and studying independently. Students’ enthusiasm for participating in the Pathway program has been wonderful to see! Before the 8-week sessions began, students frequently asked when their heritage language instruction would begin. In addition, ABS has launched Lunch Bunches, an opportunity for students to eat together while chatting with a volunteer in their heritage language. The warm relationships students develop with their language instructors and with each other as multilingual learners has been invaluable.
Please view this graphic to learn more about the many benefits of multilingualism, and the photos of CVSD students enjoying their heritage language learning.
Russian Heritage Language Class
Practicing Chinese characters
Vietnamese Heritage Language Class
Nepali Heritage Language Class
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