MPS Celebrates Bilingualism Awarding 22 Medfield HS Graduates

Medfield Public School Celebrates Bilingualism, Awarding Twenty-two graduates the Massachusetts State Seal of Biliteracy

For the seventh straight year, Medfield High School awarded the State Seal of Biliteracy to a group of graduating seniors who proved proficiency skills in multiple languages.Medfield proudly celebrates the “superpower” of bilingualism through participating in this state program. Medfield’s commitment to the State Seal of Biliteracy represents Medfield’s core values in action: Inclusivity, Respect, Responsibility, and Continuous Growth.

The Massachusetts state seal of biliteracy represents not just that graduates are bilingual, but they are biliterate.The languages honored over the years have included Spanish, Portuguese, Latin, French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Lithuanian, Russian,Japanese, and Turkish.According to our state guidance, students who earn the Massachusetts State Seal of Biliteracy are prepared to function and are career ready in two languages.

The Massachusetts Seal of Biliteracy program was signed into law in 2017 for the following reasons:

●Encourage students to study and master languages;

●Certify attainment of biliteracy skills;

●Recognize the value of language diversity;

●Provide employers with a method of identifying people with language and biliteracy skills;

●Provide universities with a method to recognize and give credit to applicants for the attainment of high-level skills in languages;

●Prepare students with skills that will benefit them in the labor market and the global society; and

●Strengthen intergroup communication and honor the multiple cultures and languages in a community

While the seal itself is a graduation award, it helps us to verify and honor the diversity of languages and cultures within our community.To develop high-level skills in any second language can require hundreds of hours of immersion/ exposure. Therefore, we want all families to be aware of our participation in this program.

The following graduating seniors students earned the Seal of Biliteracy in 2026:

Lauren Barr (Spanish),Nathan Behrmann (Spanish), Yasmina Bird (French), Cian Blake (Latin), Emir Cakan (Turkish), Gabrielle Cotaj (Spanish), Rebecca Coulombe (Spanish), Selin Eristiren (Spanish and Turkish -with distinction), Ashley Fessenden (Latin), Samuel George (Spanish), Elizabeth Hennessy (Spanish), Cassidy Kolovos (Spanish), Nikhil Kumar (Spanish), Isabella La Francesca (Spanish), Lily Lewis (Spanish), Corinne Mula (Spanish), Madeline Nawrocki (French and Latin), Fernando Neto (Portuguese- with distinction),Cailyn O'Sullivan (Latin), Sofia Roitberh (Russian), Catherine Rodenhi (Spanish), Karen Wu (Spanish-with distinction)

If you have any questions about the state seal of biliteracy, please reach out to Ellen Toubman, department chair for World Languages and Cultures at 508-359-4367 ext 11015 or one of the school principals.