Framingham Students Can Earn Biliteracy Awards, Seals

News release from Framingham Public Schools.

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Over the past nine years, Framingham Public Schools (FPS) has taken various opportunities to educate the wider community on the Massachusetts State Seal of Biliteracy.

In 2016, FPS piloted and implemented the District Biliteracy Project where the district was part of a national group designated to test the effectiveness of education towards proficiency in two or more languages.

The Seal of Biliteracy movement is a national effort to value and reward biliteracy and the legislation surrounding it represents a formal commitment by the state to the importance of language learning in this global environment.

As part of a comprehensive bill to overhaul English language learning education, the MA legislation called “Language Opportunity for Our Kids” or the LOOK Bill, was signed into law by Governor Baker on November 22, 2017. This legislation and state oversight creates a directive to language programs that the historic grammar-based language instruction is not effective and does not produce proficiency.

The Massachusetts State Seal of Biliteracy and the Massachusetts State Seal of Biliteracy with Distinction are awards provided by state-approved districts that recognize high school graduates who attain high functional and academic levels of proficiency in English and a partner language by high school graduation. This award helps students recognize the value of their linguistic abilities and see the tangible benefits of being multilingual.

The State Seal of Biliteracy and the State Seal of Biliteracy with Distinction takes the form of a seal that appears on the high school diploma of the graduating senior and is a statement of accomplishment for future employers and for college admissions.

Framingham Public Schools also offers students district recognition awards and Language Opportunity Coalition (LOC) Pathway Awards along different points of language development trajectory at grades 5, 8, and 12.

• The Language Opportunity Coalition (LOC) Biliteracy Awards can be earned during grade 5, 8, and 12.
• The Language Opportunity Coalition (LOC) Biliteracy Awards include: Biliteracy Participation, Biliteracy Attainment and Biliteracy Achievement, each with different grade and eligibility criteria.
• There are two versions of the State Seal of Biliteracy, each with different eligibility criteria. These are only available during grade 12.

All Framingham Public School grade 5, 8 and 12 multilingual learners are encouraged to participate in these biliteracy recognition opportunities.

For additional information on the LOC Awards, eligibility criteria, and more please read this newsletter from the Department of Multilingual Education (DME): https://www.smore.com/fhpnd2.

Additionally, caregivers of students in grades 5, 8, and 12 are invited to attend a virtual information session taking place Tuesday, February 13, 2024 from 7:00-8:00 PM. During this event, community members will learn more about the Massachusetts and Framingham Public Schools biliteracy awards, as well as how to register to participate in this opportunity! Interpretation Services in Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole will be available for Tuesday’s event.