Har-Ber High School celebrated 56 students at a Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy ceremony May 4 in the school's Performing Arts Center.
Springdale Public Schools leads the state in Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy students, with 1,070 of the 3,309 students recognized for the achievement stemming from Springdale Schools since the seal was officially endorsed by the Arkansas Department of Education in 2018.
Students were presented with a certificate and medal at the ceremony to recognize their achievement.
"These students are being awarded for showing biliteracy in English and in another language," said Noemi Martinez, Har-Ber Spanish teacher.
Paul Griep, Har-Ber principal, said the number of students recognized for the achievement speaks to the hard work of the students and the World Language teachers.
“You have worked hard to earn this recognition," Griep said. "We are extremely proud of you.”
Litzy Rios, 15, said earning the seal took a lot of effort to achieve.
“I feel accomplished and proud,” she said. “I think it was all really worth it.”
Rios, a sophomore, earned a certificate for her proficiency in English and Spanish, she said, giving credit to her parents as well.
“They never let me speak English in the house,” Rios said.
The certificate presents an opportunity for further learning and growth in the workplace as students move forward with applying what they've learned as part of earning the seal, Griep said.
Students had to score proficient or better in English when taking the ACT, ACT Aspire or ELPA to earn the recognition, Martinez said. For the secondary language, students had to pass the reading, writing, listening and speaking portions of the Spanish, Marshallese or Chinese language test.
The Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy is approved by the Arkansas Department of Education, the Arkansas Foreign Language Teachers Association and Arkansas Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, she said.
Springdale High School will feature its Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy Presentation Ceremony at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 11 at the SHS Performing arts Center. Don Tyson School of Innovation's ceremony will be at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 18 in the DTSOI Performing Arts Center.
