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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Lisa McFadden listens as Molly Mac Sharp, far left, describes what she did over the weekend in her honors Spanish III class at Vestavia Hills High School on Aug. 12.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Lisa McFadden teaches a Spanish class at Vestavia Hills High School.
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Photo courtesy of Lisa McFadden.
Vestavia Hills High School students in the Class of 2024 receive their Alabama Seal of Biliteracy or Global Seal of Biliteracy.
Vestavia Hills High School has emerged as a leader in the state in reviving interest in world languages and the arts through its innovative Seals credentialing programs.
Under the leadership of VHHS faculty members Lisa McFadden, a Spanish teacher and world languages department chairwoman, and Faith Lenhart, the director of arts education, the VHHS Seal of Biliteracy and Arts Achievement Seal have recognized hundreds of students for their commitment to the arts and world languages, while encouraging them to develop skills beyond the core subjects required for graduation.
The Seals concept was conceived by McFadden close to 10 years ago, while searching for ways to improve participation in world language classes at VHHS. Since Alabama doesn’t have a world language requirement to graduate from high school, she saw enrollment in language classes lagging as students gravitated toward more science and technology classes during the rise in STEM programming.
While attending a world languages conference in 2015, McFadden said she learned about new world language programs launched in California and starting to spread throughout the nation.
These new initiatives not only encouraged enrollment but also provided objective language ability measurements and publicly rewarded students who achieved those metrics.
Intrigued by the concept, McFadden used these programs as a model for the Seal of Biliteracy and gained approval from the Vestavia Hills City Schools Board of Education to pilot the program for the 2016-17 school year. The goal, she said, is not just to get more kids to take a language class, but to recognize and certify students’ proficiency in multiple languages.
“Everybody always says, ‘I took Spanish in high school,’ or ‘I know a little French.’ Well, what is a little Spanish or what is a little French?” McFadden said. “This is a credentialing of their true abilities.
“They’re demonstrating their ability to read, write, speak and to listen in English, as well as an additional language at an intermediate-mid level,” she added. “You may not be perfect with everything, but if we plop you in a different place, you could survive.”
Since its adoption in 2017, McFadden said the VHHS Seal of Biliteracy program has served 1,800 students, with 704 students earning the Seal of Biliteracy in 13 languages: Spanish, French, German, Latin, American Sign Language, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, Korean, Hindi, Portuguese, Arabic and Japanese. McFadden said the program also encourages students to study languages on their own, since VHHS only teaches five languages through in-person classes: Latin, German, Spanish, French and American Sign Language.
She added that the Seal of Biliteracy recognizes Vestavia Hills’ diverse student population.
“The nice thing about this is it validates the diversity within our community, so if a child comes from a different background where they have a different home language, they can embrace that language along with the English piece,” she said. “We live in a global world, and they’re very connected. This gives them the ability to transition that into a marketable skill.”
Vestavia Hills City Schools was the first school system in Alabama to offer the Seal of Biliteracy program. However, the state passed the Alabama Seal of Biliteracy program into law in 2022, which, McFadden said, was modeled on Vestavia’s program. “They did take our template and use that to build the Alabama State Seal of Biliteracy, so that has been a great opportunity to collaborate for growth across the state,” she said.
Lenhart added that she believes VHHS is the premiere school in the state for biliteracy education and that McFadden is the concept’s leading advocate in Alabama. She also said the program was the inspiration for the VHHS Arts Achievement Seal.
“The state comes to Lisa to find out how to do this,” Lenhart said. “Other districts are starting to catch on, and it’s growing in the state, and I feel like she is responsible for some of that.”
Launched in 2018, Lenhart said the Arts Achievement Seal was created for the same reasons as the Seal of Biliteracy — to spur participation in the arts. Lenhart said conversations with Timarie Fisk, a visual arts teacher at VHHS, led to the creation of the Arts Achievement Seal program.
Lenhart said that while she understands how vital core academic subjects are to the school’s students and parents, she believes that languages and the arts are also vital components of a well-rounded education. She said the Arts Achievement Seal is making a noticeable impact.
“There is a lot of competition for their time, which is a good problem because we at the school offer so many things for the kids, but we obviously think our programs are important, and this is another way that we can encourage them to stick with it until they graduate,” Lenhart said.
To qualify for the Arts Achievement Seal, students must take any combination of arts classes for six semesters. Additionally, Lenhart said students can also earn an Arts Achievement Seal with Concentration if they stay in a single arts program — such as band or visual arts — for at least three years.
McFadden and Lenhart said the VHHS Seals programs are not only increasing participation in world languages and the arts, but are also providing students with a more well-rounded education.
Lenhart added that these programs are catching the attention of college recruiters, who are increasingly interested in students with diverse backgrounds and interests, not just great grades and test scores.
“At the end of the day, we’re always trying to do what’s best for kids and give them the most diverse education that we can give them,” McFadden said. “When they have all of those pieces when they go out outside of our four walls, they’re much better prepared to meet people and interact as a well-rounded individual.”
“We’re also hearing from colleges about who they accept and what the perfect applicant looks like, and it’s moving away from that perfect ACT score, SAT score or grade point average. It’s about the well-rounded kids and the kids that are involved in different things,” Lenhart said. “So that is something that is working in our favor.
“For so long, I feel like we’ve been focused on that SAT or ACT score and their GPA,” she added. “If you have a decent GPA, schools are also looking at the other things. They’re not just stuck on the scores.”
Learn more about the VHHS Seal of Biliteracy and Arts Achievement Seal online at vhcs.us.
