12 high achievers earn biliteracy seal at Glen Cove High School
Glen Cove High School is celebrating the remarkable achievements of a dozen students who have earned the New York State Seal of Biliteracy, an award recognizing high school graduates who master other languages.
Ashley Ghiraldi, the district coordinator of world languages and ENL, or English as a New Language, recently detailed the program’s significance, the criteria for earning the seal, and the accomplishments of the school’s honored seniors.
The Seal of Biliteracy is affixed to a student’s high school diploma and added to his or her transcript.
“The intent of the seal is to encourage the study of languages, identify high school graduates with language and biliteracy skills for employers, (and) to provide universities with additional information about applicants seeking admission and placement,” Ghiraldi said during her presentation to the education board on May 22.
“It will also prepare students with 21st-century skills to recognize the value of language instruction, and to affirm the value of diversity in a multilingual society.”
It was first awarded in the 2015-16 academic year to 284 students in 20 schools. Since then, the number of recipients has grown dramatically, to a total of more than 17,800 from across the state.
The seal aims to promote the study of languages, and prepare students with essential 21st-century skills.
Pattern recognition is key to learning a new language, because it helps learners understand grammar, form sentences, and expand their vocabulary. It also improves pronunciation, listening skills and spelling. Recognizing patterns in context and culture makes communication more natural, aids in correcting mistakes, and makes learning faster and easier by building on what is already known.
Philip Dilgard-Clark, a senior and a seal recipient who has a knack for pattern recognition, has studied Italian since seventh grade. He spoke about his love of language and computer coding in his college essays, and intends to study economics and market theory.
He said he is fascinated by the way culture and grammar affect each another, and how a culture’s language can often be telling of its history, since many words in any given language have roots in other languages, revealing historical connections and influences.
“You can really see the cause and effect by looking at language,” Dilgard-Clark said. “There’s two levels I see with languages: the surface level, of speaking it, but there’s a level beneath that. That’s true understanding — not just the ability to communicate, but to understand why you’re communicating, why the language is set up that way.”
To qualify for the seal, students must earn three points in English and three points in any other language through a combination of coursework, exams and projects. For the English component, they must score 80 or above on the English Regents exam, maintain an average of at least 85 in 11th- and 12th-grade English classes, or achieve a “Commanding” score on the state English as a Second Language Achievement Test.
For the second language component, they must score 85 or above in coursework that is the equivalent of college-level coursework, or score 4 or higher on the language’s AP exam. Additionally, students must complete a culminating project that involves presenting projects in the foreign language to teachers and classmates, submitting an essay in English, and answering questions in the foreign language to showcase their speaking abilities.
“I appreciate that the school offers classes that I think will prepare the students for the real world, and put them at an advantage for those students who are applying to college,” Carolyne Dilgard-Clark, Philip’s mother, said. “A lot of colleges do look at whether the student has taken a foreign language and committed to continue it through their high school years. Not all high schools offer continuity of language program like Glen Cove does. As a parent, I appreciate the depth that they’ve offered.”
