Bilingual students recognized

A unique recognition in place for many years now in our district had a record number of recipients among this year's graduating seniors: the Bilingual Seal was awarded to 61 students.

The Bilingual Seal is given to students meeting all the requirements for this unique honor. As described in the information, “this prestigious seal … the culmination of study in a foreign language and English … signifying the student is proficient in listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in both languages.”

Proficiency is evaluated through multiple assessments in various categories.

Santi Gutierrez, bilingual coordinator, working closely together with Adriana Quiroz, bilingual teacher at CHS Freshman Academy, are instrumental in facilitating this program.

Preparation for working toward the Seal can start as early as ninth grade, or in any grade in high school. To qualify for this award a student completes an application; then, they must pass reading and writing portions of various assessments, as well as a screening process to prove proficiency in a second language.

Now known as the State Seal of Bilingualism-Biliteracy (SSBB) this recognition for students who have attained proficiency in a language other than English has earned a considerable degree of prestige.

In our state of New Mexico, the second language, not surprisingly, is usually Spanish. However, this past year, recipients included students receiving the Seal for Spanish and German. The languages have varied from year to year; for example, last year we had students working toward proficiency in Portuguese, French, and German, in addition to Spanish.

One recent change in the program is incorporating technology into the mix for assessment portions; students are able to do virtual presentations with supervising proctors.

Gutierrez shared enthusiastically about the program and its advantages for students. Achieving the Seal is a lot of work, but support and guidance is offered throughout the process.

“We already have 86 registered juniors, several of whom have already met the requirements,” she continued. “If students are even thinking about it, they should definitely apply. We stay in contact with students working toward the Seal to help guide them through the stages.”

Significantly, Gutierrez also described visits from former students who returned to tell her about jobs and how having the Seal was a deciding factor in their getting the position.

Nelson Mandela remarked, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”

Cindy Kleyn-Kennedy is the instructional technology coordinator for the Clovis Municipal Schools and can be reached at:

[email protected]