Bilingual Livermore Students Recognized At English Learner Reclassification Ceremony

From Livermore HS: The music of myriad languages swirled among students, family, and faculty in the Livermore High School gymWednesday night as hundreds gathered to celebrate Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District (LVJUSD)’s Reclassification Ceremony for students who achieved fluency in English, their second language, in the 2016-17 school year.

Reclassification places English learners on the same educational level as their native-speaking counterparts, meaning they are able to perform successfully in core academic subjects without the support of English Language Development. This year, 350 students were recognized for attaining this milestone. To qualify for reclassification, a student needs to maintain a 3.0 grade point average for at least one trimester in English and Language Arts; pass the California English Language Development Test; and score “proficient” or “advanced” on the district reading or writing benchmark, or achieve a level of “Met or Exceeds Standards” on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) state test in English Language Arts.

“What is especially impressive about these students,” said Assistant Superintendent Mike Biondi, in his bilingual opening address, “is that they had the added task of navigating the path toward mastery of academic literacy and content knowledge while simultaneously developing full proficiency in English as an additional language. This is an astounding accomplishment, and we congratulate them.”

Students receiving their reclassification from Jackson Avenue Elementary led the Pledge of Allegiance. For intermission, the Ballet Folklorico Santa Paula performed several songs and brought volunteers among the students up for a dance while the audience clapped along. At one point the entire gym was united in rhythm while students joined hands, dancing and laughing, changing partners with every call of “¡cambio!” The initial awkwardness of learning the steps with someone new ebbed with every beat, and beautifully represented the social breakthrough in sharing a common language with their peers.

The significance of this accomplishment was clear in the pride of the friends and family members as they stood to cheer and take videos or pictures as their students received a medal and certificate to memorialize the achievement. In the celebration’s closing remarks, Kevin Grier, Director of Curriculum and Special Projects at LVJUSD, recognized the support of the community surrounding each student. “I want to commend all the students and their parents or guardians for putting in the tremendous time and effort needed to reach this goal,” he said. “This is no easy feat, and represents a high degree of dedication to your education and an outstanding work ethic, both of which will get you very far in life! Congratulations!”

Image Courtesy of Livermore HS