The Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) officially recognized hundreds of local high school seniors yesterday. In the culmination of their linguistic accomplishments, the students received the State Seal of Biliteracy—awarded to seniors who have demonstrated English competency, plus competency in another language by meeting specific criteria.
The ceremony was held in the Sheldon High School performing arts center where Dr. Nadeen Ruiz, Professor Emeritus of Bilingual Multicultural Education at CSU Sacramento, and Lecturer at the UC Davis School of Education, gave the keynote address. Across Sacramento County, more than 1,600 students earned the State Seal of Biliteracy. SCOE has recognized Seal of Biliteracy recipients annually since 2013.
To earn this distinction, students must demonstrate English competency by meeting the English language arts standards of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), plus receive good grades in all English classes required for high school graduation. In addition, students must demonstrate language proficiency by taking a four-year course of study in a world language or passing a test (such as the Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams).
Besides English, this year’s Sacramento County Seal of Biliteracy recipients are proficient in 23 other languages: American Sign Language, Arabic, Armenian, Cantonese, Dari, Farsi, French, German, Hindi, Hmong, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Mandarin, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Ukrainian, Urdu, and Vietnamese. More than 30 students earned seals in multiple languages.
SCOE collaborated with the following Sacramento County school districts and independent charter schools in this year’s Seal of Biliteracy program: Center Joint USD, Elk Grove USD, Folsom Cordova USD, Futures High School Charter, Galt Joint Union HSD, Heritage Peak Charter, Natomas USD, Natomas Pacific Pathways Prep Charter, River Delta USD, Sacramento City USD, San Juan USD, Twin Rivers USD, and Visions In Education Charter.