At the Nov. 9 Board of Education meeting, Theresa Scudiero, district director of social studies and world languages, along with students from Long Beach High School, presented information on the district’s Seal of Biliteracy program, now in its fourth year of being offered within the district.
According to organizers, the Seal of Biliteracy is designed to encourage the study of languages, prepare students with 21st century skills and affirm the value of diversity in a multilingual society, among others. To earn a Seal of Biliteracy, students must complete several requirements in their English and world language classes, such as presenting a culminating project, scholarly essay or portfolio and earning high test scores.
During their culminating project presentations for the Seal of Biliteracy, students are asked why they wish to pursue the Seal of Biliteracy or why it is important to be able to be communicate in more than one language. “Many of them answer that it is because they wish to be able to help more people in their chosen career,” said Ms. Scudiero. “This sense of altruism is also present in the Seal of Civic Readiness, where students have expressed the desire to ‘build a better future.’”
Ms. Scudiero expanded upon the Seal of Civic Readiness, noting that the district has been chosen to pilot the program. More than 100 students have applied for this distinction, which signifies a commitment to democratic interpersonal and intrapersonal values, virtues, attitudes, beliefs and informed actions that promote and facilitate meaningful participation in civic life. To earn the Seal of Civic Readiness, students must complete a variety of civic and service-learning projects, as well as complete a number of courses in social studies.
According to Ms. Scudiero, “Both the Seal of Biliteracy and the Seal of Civic Readiness provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their ability to be independent, open-minded, hardworking, creative problem solvers who are effective communicators possessing strong self-management and critical thinking skills, data sense, perseverance and resilience.” These traits are all included in the district’s “profile of a Long Beach graduate.”
The district would like to congratulate three students who spoke at the Board meeting about the Seal of Biliteracy and the Seal of Civic Readiness: Nicholas Cartagena, Natalia Hakimzadeh and Abdul Khan. They are among many students who are planning to earn both seals this year.