MANSFIELD — Superintendent Teresa Murphy and Principal Russ Booth are excited to announce that five Mansfield High School Class of 2023 graduates have earned the Massachusetts State Seal of Biliteracy distinction during the district’s inaugural year in the program.
Students were recognized on Thursday, May 1 during Mansfield High School Class Day.
Mansfield High School wishes to congratulate the following students as the district’s first recipients of the Massachusetts State Seal of Biliteracy distinction:
- SriRishi Atluri: Spanish
- Jose De la Fuente Martiniz: Spanish
- Anthony Duran Salas: Spanish
- Maksym Koval: Russian
- Hallie Popat: Spanish
The Seal of Biliteracy is an award provided by state-approved districts that recognizes high school graduates who attain high functional and academic levels of proficiency in English and at least one other language by high school graduation. The purpose of the award is to help students recognize the value of their academic success and see the tangible benefits of being bilingual.
Students are awarded this distinction based on their performance on the Standards-based Measurement of Proficiency language test (Avant STAMP 4S). Students that were awarded also fulfilled the Carnegie unit credit requirements in English Language Arts.
World Language Department Chair Carolina DiBiase helped prepare students for this comprehensive test, which was administered this spring. This year, Mansfield High School administered exams in Arabic, French, Russian and Spanish.
Seniors enrolled in advanced placement Spanish or French courses are automatically eligible to apply their scores, however, those scores will not be received until the summer.
Class of 2023 graduates are the first Mansfield students to be offered this opportunity. Mansfield High School plans to offer the exam opportunity to both juniors and seniors next year.
The Seal of Biliteracy takes the form of a seal that appears on the transcript or diploma of the graduating senior and is a statement of accomplishment for future employers and for college admissions.
In addition to the seal appearing on their transcript, graduating seniors will wear a pin as part of their graduation regalia.
“We would like to commend our multi-language speaking graduates for their outstanding achievement,” said Superintendent Murphy. “We hope that as this program grows, more and more students take advantage of the proficiency exams and pursue the opportunity to earn the seal. We also hope that our graduates use their multilingual and multicultural skills in their future endeavors whether that is college, the workforce, the military, or traveling and exploring the world.”
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