Mandarin Immersion Parents Council

The San Francisco Unified School District’s School Board voted Wednesday night to approve a new Seal of Biliteracy for graduating high school seniors.

The seal, which will come with a certificate seniors can use when applying for jobs or applying to colleges, will honor those students who through their studies or testing have proven they are bilingual or biliterate in one of the many languages taught in SFUSD schools.

The new program is not expected to cost anything extra, as it will be based on already-existing testing.

Kudos to Margaret Peterson, of SFUSD’s  World Languages Dept., who spear headed the effort.

And a huge thanks to Starr King parent Carmen Cordovez, who stayed until 9:45 PM last night waiting for the vote, which unfortunately  was moved after the budget discussion. Carmen (whose children will be trilingual in Spanish, English and Mandarin) didn’t get to speak for the proposal as she had to get home, but she waited in the overflowing room for more than three hours, which is above and beyond the call of duty.

And a shout out Ijnanya Foster, another Starr King MI parent, who was on call to speak but also had to in the end give up due to the stronger call of getting her kids to bed at a reasonable hour.

More from the District:

District to Award Seal of Biliteracy to Eligible Future Graduates

March 24, 2010 (San Francisco) – Last night the Board of Education voted
unanimously to include a Seal of Biliteracy or Seal of World Language
Proficiency on diplomas of students who prove proficiency in two or more
languages upon graduation.

“This distinction will honor the linguistic and cultural treasures of our
students,” says Superintendent Carlos Garcia.  “Achieving high levels of
academic competency in both English and at least one other World Language,
including students’ home languages, is an integral part of making our vision
of 21st century learning a reality.”

The seal will be awarded to students who have mastered standard academic
English and any other language, including American Sign Language.

This adoption furthers the 2006 board commitment to prepare all of its
students for a multilingual/multicultural world by taking full advantage of
the rich linguistic and cultural diversity and assets of San Francisco, and
provide every student the opportunity to graduate proficient in English and
at least one other language.

The idea of the seal has been promoted by a group known as Californians
Together, a statewide coalition of parents, teachers, and education
advocates.

“This exciting program will recognize the biliteracy skills of our
students,” said Shelly Spiegel-Coleman, the group’s executive director.

“Students who receive the Seal of Biliteracy become highly attractive to
future employers and college admissions offices. It is our goal to have at
least fifty school districts awarding Seals of Biliteracy by this June”
Speigel-Coleman said.

According to Californians Together, programs for the seal already are
underway at a number of California school districts including Glendale
Unified, Ventura Unified, Rowland Unified, Sweetwater Union High School
District, and Eastside Union High School District.  In addition, Albuquerque
Public School District in New Mexico also has instituted the program.

To receive the Seal of Biliteracy or World Language Proficiency, seniors
must demonstrate proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in
one or more languages in addition to English.

The Seal of Biliteracy will likely require at least one of the following: a
pre-advanced or intermediate high assessment of their second language skill,
a minimum score of 4 on an AP Foreign Language exam, successful completion
of the fourth year of the language course with a 3.0 GPA or above,
successful completion of a subject matter course taught in a language other
than English (e.g., Biology taught in Chinese, US History taught in Spanish)
with a 3.0 or above, and school records or other official documents
indicating that the student successfully completed five or more years in the
target language where the second language was the medium of instruction.

The Seal of World Language Proficiency will likely require at least one of
the following: an intermediate-low level assessment of their second language
skill, passing the AP Foreign Language Exam with a score of at least 3,
passing the SAT II at the UC admissions designated level for the target
language, successful completion of the fourth year target language course
with a 2.5 GPA, successful completion of a subject matter course taught in a
language other than English (e.g., Biology taught in Chinese, US History
taught in Spanish) with a 3.0 or above, and school records or other official
documents indicating that the student successfully completed three or more
years in the target language where the second language was the medium of
instruction.

Both seals require students to complete all UC A-G course requirements for a
high school diploma, including all English Language Arts requirements and
passing the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), and an overall GPA of
2.0.