Maîtrise. Magisterium. Maestría.
Forty-eight world language students challenged themselves with the Seal of Biliteracy test April 10 to prove their mastery in either French, Latin or Spanish.
The Seal of Biliteracy program recognizes and celebrates students’ ability in multiple languages. The initiative, adopted by the State of Alabama, provides students with a valuable credential that demonstrates their linguistics skills to future employers and educational institutions.
The program requires students to demonstrate intermediate-level proficiency in a second language with comprehensive testing that evaluates reading, writing, speaking and listening skills.
Of Homewood’s tests, 94% earned the seal of distinction with 100% of all AP students passing the test, including Wendy Contreras and Abigail Sanchez-Perez who passed both the Latin and Spanish tests.
AP Spanish teacher and world language department head Marta Parker said she imagines that’s a higher pass rate than most schools and credited both the students themselves and the teachers in her department.
“[These results are] a testament to the students’ dedication and hard work, as well as the collective efforts of our World Language Department,” she said. “I truly believe that our department consistently demonstrates excellence in guiding and supporting students in their journey toward multilingual proficiency.”
Jana Flinkow, assistant principal of curriculum and instruction, is proud of what the foreign language students have accomplished and echoed Parker’s thoughts on the school’s language department.
“It shows the strength of our foreign language program,” Flinkow said.
For students like Isaiah Shull, the benefits extend far beyond the classroom by opening up opportunities for international jobs, sharing cultures and travel.
“I thought it was a great opportunity to further my studies in Spanish,” said Shull, a junior in Pre-AP Spanish.
But he also acknowledged what this level of language acquisition can mean moving forward into the job force.
“It can be very useful in my future profession,” Shull said. “I can be able to help people who aren’t feeling heard.”
Parker agreed that language acquisition at this level can have professional benefits and said that in a global market “being bilingual is absolutely needed.”
Graduating seniors receive an honor card and have the seal permanently documented on their transcripts.
In the future, the world language department hopes to expand participation in the test. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, Parker said the department continues to aim to prepare students not just to communicate, but to excel with their target language, and that’s what these test results show.
“[The results] also highlight the strength of our curriculum, the quality of our instruction, and our commitment to fostering cultural understanding and language mastery through engaging and rigorous language learning experiences,” she said.
