MD Seal of Biliteracy
A Guide for WCPS Students, Parents and Teachers: 2018-2019
Congratulations 2019 recipients!
Barbara Ingram School for the Arts:
- Jeanrie Arechiga Ruiz, Spanish
- Bethany Norris, Spanish
Boonsboro High School:
- Paxton Alexander, Spanish
- Ellie Bare, Spanish
- Madeleine Davis, French
- Maeve Dever, Spanish
- Karen Hosova, Spanish
- Gabriel Juedemann, Spanish
- Hannah Little, Spanish
- Donovan McClellan, Spanish
- Lauren Moore, French
- Zaheen Murshed, Spanish
- Alyssa Queen, Spanish
- Jessica Shields, Spanish
- Isabella Spires, Spanish
- Trevor Willard, Spanish
North Hagerstown High School:
- Ryan Barnett, German
- Geraldine Betancur, Spanish
- Chrystelle Binga, French
- Clara Desclous, French
- Cheick Haidara, French
- Enah Kouadio, French
- Amaris Lozano Herrera, Spanish
- Libby Lozano Herrera, Spanish
- Elias Reichard, German
South Hagerstown High School:
- Michaell Cerrato Meza, Spanish
- Ericleen Cespedes Peralta, Spanish
- Nicanol Cespedez Serrano, Spanish
- Paola Devora Fernández, Spanish
- Dashawn Duncan Owens, Spanish
- Alanna Gladhill, Spanish
- Alexandra Granados, Spanish
- Jiajie Li, Chinese
- Isaac Montiel Garcia, Spanish
- Ashlee Quezada, Spanish
- Abbie Rice, Spanish
Williamsport High School:
- Michaella Converse, Spanish
- Skylar Detrick, Spanish
- Mackenzie Dudley, Spanish
- Angela Green, Spanish
- Jaime Guevara, Spanish
- Hannah Moats, Spanish
- Leslie Unger, Spanish
- William Wood, Spanish
Boonsboro HS French and Spanish
Barbara Ingram School for the Arts Spanish
South High Spanish
What is the MD Seal of Biliteracy?
Evidence for students, employers and universities of a student’s readiness for career and college, and for engagement as a global citizen
Award becomes part of a student's official high school transcript
- Recognition through Washington County Public Schools (WCPS) and Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) Certificates of Achievement
- Recognition in graduation programs and Seal of Biliteracy medals worn at graduation if eligibility is completed by April 30, 2019
- Award ceremony May 21, 2019 at 6:00 at the WCPS Board of Education meeting at the Center for Education Services
Purpose
Recognize the value of language learning
Encourage students to attain high proficiency levels in one or more languages
Affirm native or heritage languages
Provide employers and colleges with a method of identifying individuals with biliteracy skills
Prepare students with the critical skills necessary to function in a global society
- Affirm the value of diversity in our community
Eligibility Requirements
1. Meet English 10 Graduation Requirements
AND
2. Pass an MSDE ACTFL approved world language assessment such as AP, IB, or STAMP with a minimum intermediate high proficiency. Click here for a list of approved assessments and score requirements.
Sample Score Eligibility
International Baccalaureate
Standard Level (Score of 6 or higher)
Higher Level (Score of 5 or higher)
Advanced Placement
Score of 4 or 5
STAndards Based Measurement of Proficiency (STAMP)
Score of 6 or higher in every domain in the same sitting (no super scoring)
- As part of the curriculum, STAMP is available to WCPS students for free in level III and higher world language courses
How do WCPS students apply?
- WCPS students enrolled in a French, German, Japanese or Spanish level 3 or above course take the STAMP (STAndards-based Measurement of Proficiency) assessment as part of the course. There is no student cost to take this assessment. STAMP is only available to students enrolled in the specific language course. For example, a native French speaking student enrolled in Spanish may only take STAMP in Spanish, not French.
- WCPS students enrolled in an Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) course have the option of taking the corresponding AP or IB exam. There is a fee to take the AP and IB exams. Fee waivers may be available for some students who demonstrate financial need. Please see your School Counselor or World Language teacher for information on fee waivers and exam registration processes.
- Students who are native speakers, heritage speakers or who studied a language outside of WCPS may register for an AP exam at their school in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin and Spanish. A student does not need to be enrolled in an AP class to take the AP exam, although research by the College Board shows that students who take the courses do better on the exams. There is a fee to take the AP exam. Fee waivers may be available for some students who demonstrate financial need. Please see your School Counselor or World Language teacher for information on fee waivers and exam registration processes.
Students who meet any of the above four categories, do not need to complete an application.
2. WCPS Students Not Enrolled in World Language Courses or registered for AP and/or IB exams.
- For languages (including American Sign Language) that do not have an AP exam or for an alternative language assessment, students can refer to the Maryland State Department of Education list of approved assessments aligned to ACTFL proficiency guidelines.
***WCPS non World Language students must complete an application by April 26, 2019. Please complete and include dates of assessments taken, the names of the world language assessments taken along with your score evidence of an intermediate high proficiency level for an ACTFL aligned assessment. Turn the application into your World Language School Department leader. The World Language Supervisor will verify your 10th grade English requirement. There is no need to submit PARCC score evidence with your application.**
- Students who are not in WL class or do not have an AP/IB assessment for their language may use the WCPS online STAMP portal if appropriate and at their own cost. **You do NOT need to complete an application because online portal STAMP scores are directly sent to the WCPS World Language Supervisor. **
Graduates who take AP and IB exams
Instructional Impact
Recognition for work that World Language students are already doing in their current English and World Language courses
No changes in instruction and curriculum
No new assessments
No costs to students and families for an application or award
- Students not enrolled in WCPS World Language courses have the opportunity to pursue the MD Seal of Biliteracy by independently pursuing World Language assessments
Quick Links
How was the Seal of Biliteracy Created?
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), National Association of Bilingual Education (NABE), National Council of State Supervisors for Languages (NCSSFL) and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) International Association collaborated to draft recommendations for implementation in 2011 for California, the 1st state to participate
- May 2016: Signed into law by Governor Hogan making MD the 20th state to participate
May 2016: MSDE Task Force formed
November 2016: WCPS Task Force formed
January 2017: MD State Board of Education approved the program
- February 2017: WCPS (1 of 7 MD school districts) joined the program
- May 16, 2017: 1st recipients in the entire state were recognized by the WCPS Superintendent, Director of Instructional programs and World Language Specialist at the Maryland State Department and elected members of the Washington County Board of Education
HERALD MAIL FEATURES OUR SEAL OF BILITERACY RECIPIENTS
For more information...
Email: moorepau@wcps.k12.md.us
Website: http://wcpsmd.com/
Location: 10435 Downsville Pike, Hagerstown, MD, United States
Phone: 301-766-2977
Twitter: @mme_moore
NEW!!! WCPS STAMP online portal
The portal will open April 1 and close April 23.
The cost for 2018-2019 is $57.50.
The window will be open from April 1-April 23.
Only WCPS students may use this portal.
All results are sent to the World Language Supervisor
Students may only take the test one time during the window. If the score is taken more than once, only the 1st set of scores will be used.
Students enrolled in WL courses who take STAMP in their classes are NOT eligible to take STAMP at the online portal. If this occurs, the online scores will be nullified and voided. The WL class scores will be the only scores counted for Seal of Biliteracy.
Online proctoring will be used for the online portal so you can take the assessment on most technology with a webcam at any location.
Languages available on the WCPS online portal are:
Arabic, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified and Traditional), Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, and Spanish.