Emily Featherston
Seal of Biliteracy
Lisa Garrison teaches VHHS Spanish students.
For Vestavia Hills High School Spanish teacher Lisa Garrison, knowing a language should mean much more than introducing yourself and counting to 10.
Her upper-level students receive class instructions almost completely in Spanish, and some are on the path to attaining an official certification of their skills.
The Seal of Biliteracy program, introduced in September, will certify proficiency in more than one language, and give participating students a way to prove that to colleges and employers.
“By having the Seal of Biliteracy, they are proving that they can read and that they can write at a certain functional level,” Garrison said.
Students who are able to show proficiency in Spanish, French, German, Latin or American Sign Language, as well as English, will receive an official seal on their diploma when they graduate.
“Being able to show proficiency in more than one language is critical,” Garrison said, adding that with an increase of international business in Birmingham and beyond, she and others think the program will help students with finding and applying to colleges, as well as finding a job.
“We want to make sure that we have our students as prepared as possible for post-secondary life, whether it takes them to the university level or whether it takes them into the workplace.”
Garrison said that with so many increases in technology and global business, “the world is a much smaller place,” and for schools, it’s important to put an emphasis on teaching world languages.
“We don’t have even where foreign language is required anymore in the state of Alabama,” Garrison said, and said that was part of the reason Vestavia Hills teachers wanted to join the Seal of Biliteracy movement.
Across the nation, 13 states and the District of Columbia have state laws regarding the Seal of Biliteracy and four have the program under construction. Another 10 states, including nearby Tennessee and Florida, are in the early stages of creating statewide programs.
Executive Director of the Alabama World Languages Association Heather West, who is a world languages professor at Samford University and was also part of planning the Seal program, said Vestavia Hills High School was chosen in hopes that it would inspire other Alabama schools.
“They’re a really good school system,” West said, “and we thought that if they laid the groundwork and got the Seal approved by their board, other schools, certainly in the Birmingham area, if not other really good public schools or private schools, other schools in the state might want to follow suit.”
Vestavia Hills students applying for the Seal will be required to prove, either through test scores or other assessment programs, that they are not only able to speak a language, but that they can read and write at an acceptable level.
“Part of our process has been what kind of tools we’ll use to assess those languages,” Garrison said.
She said students must show English literacy through their grades in English Language Arts classes in high school, as well as their English ACT scores. For their chosen world language, students can show proficiency by scoring a three or higher on Advanced Placement tests, which are taken in the spring semester.
While the testing is done during high school, Garrison said the journey to learning a language can and should start much earlier.
She said that middle schools in the Vestavia Hills systems offer “exploratory” classes for sixth graders, after which students can start language curriculum in Spanish, French and German. Latin is only offered in high school, but can still be considered for the Seal.
“You see these kids that are following and really embracing the language, and you want to give them an opportunity to share with others ‘this is what I have accomplished,’” Garrison said.
Garrison said the program also aims to embrace students that already speak more than one language, or who are learning English for the first time in school.
Garrison said that while the program will hopefully open the door for students when they are looking for employment, she and others hope it will inspire an overall desire to learn a language.
“Even if you take the language part and put it to the side, being able to culturally interact with people appropriately is huge, because you don’t know who you are going to come into contact with,” she said.
“It makes them much more responsible as far as being global citizens after they graduate.”
The program will officially kickoff in the fall at the start of the 2016-2017 school year, and all qualified VHHS students are encouraged to apply.
