The New York State Seal of BiliteracyNYSAFLT Rochester Regional Conference

March 7, 2015

Candace Black

Eastridge High School

Workshop agenda What is the Seal of Biliteracy History of the Seal of Biliteracy Why should NY schools offer the Seal of

Biliteracy? The 2014-15 Pilot Program Process for identifying students Earning the Seal, the Pathway Awards &

Potential New Pathway to Graduation Portfolio (evidence of biliteracy) How to get more information on the Seal of

Biliteracy

What is the Seal of Biliteracy? An award given by a school, district or county

office of education in recognition of students who have studied and attained proficiency in two or more languages (one of which is English) by high school graduation

Takes the form of a gold seal that appears on the transcript or diploma of the graduating senior

History of the Seal of Biliteracy

California initiated the first State Seal of Biliteracy in 2008.

In 2012, New York State enacted legislation modeled after California to create the NYS Seal of Biliteracy.

East Irondequoit was selected as one of 12 schools to pilot this program in the 2014-15 school year.

The State Education Department will gather information on how pilot schools have planned for and implemented their school-based Seal of Biliteracy programs and will use this information to develop statewide guidelines for the following year (2015-16).

Why should NY schools offer the Seal of Biliteracy? The Seal of Biliteracy provides a means by

which schools can honor those students who have achieved mastery in two world languages, one of which is English.

The Seal can be a motivating factor for students to continue with world language study throughout their high school careers.

The Biliteracy program also allows for “Pathway awards” that can be given at the school’s discretion at various points in a student’s academic career (K-11).

The 2014-15 Pilot Program 12 schools in NYS were selected by NYSED to

develop a plan to implement the Seal of Biliteracy in their schools in the 2014-15 School year.

Identify committee members (LOTE/ESL teachers, guidance counselor, administrators)

Establish meeting monthly meeting dates

Establish a timeline of tasks

Determine eligibility requirements

Identify and work with eligible students

Report back to NYSED on our process

Criteria for LOTE student to earn the Seal We established the following criteria to earn

the Seal of Biliteracy at Eastridge HS: GPA of 3.0 or better in English for 9th & 10th grades to be

eligible, including maintaining this average during the 11th & 12th grade years

GPA of 3.0 or GPA of 3.0 or better in LOTE for 9th & 10th grades to be eligible, including maintaining this average during the 11th & 12th grade years

Overall GPA of 2.5 in all academic classes for 9th & 10th grades to be eligible, including maintaining this average during the 11th & 12th grade years

The completion of a student portfolio documenting biliteracy

Identifying the students We worked with our IT department to

collect the requested data from our student management system.

The IT representative also provides follow up data each year/quarter to verify student eligibility.

In the spring of sophomore year, LOTE teachers give presentations on the Seal of Biliteracy to students in their LOTE classes.

The Student Portfolio Once student candidates have been identified,

a meeting is held in September of the junior year to explain the process.

During the junior and senior years, students will work with their LOTE and English teachers to select from their regular classwork, items to include in their portfolio:

Speaking/listening (recording) – one on-demand and one prepared.

Reading/writing (document) – one on-demand and one prepared.

The Student Portfolio Students select their portfolio entries in

both English and LOTE in conjunction with their teachers.

Portfolios are submitted in April of the senior year to be reviewed by the Seal of Biliteracy committee.

Successful candidates are notified via a letter in May.

Awarding the Seal In June 2015, successful candidates will

receive:

A certificate acknowledging the achievement of the school seal of Biliteracy at a 12th grade awards ceremony

A notation in the graduation ceremony program indicating the earning of the Seal of Biliteracy

In June of 2016, successful candidates will receive all of the above plus a gold seal on the official diploma

ENL students The Seal of Biliteracy can also be awarded

to student whose mother tongue is other than English.

They must meet the same benchmarks as LOTE students except they will demonstrate literacy in the mother tongue.

Schools must identify special mentors fluent in the mother language of the student to evaluate the portfolio (university contacts).

Pathway Awards Starting in the 2015-16 school year, we

also plan to offer 3 pathway awards to students to recognize and encourage achievement in LOTE: At 2nd grade

At 5th grade

At 8th grade

For each grade, we will have a small ceremony to which parents are invited. Students will receive a certificate and perhaps a small token gift.

The Future of the Seal of Biliteracy We anticipate that the NY State Education

Department will publish formal guidelines for all NYS schools wishing to offer the Seal of Biliteracy starting with the class of 2016.

The State will develop an official seal which participating schools will be eligible to affix to students’ transcripts beginning in June 2016.