GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — Students in the Green Bay Area School District will have access to a new graduation credential specifically for bilingual students.
The district is now one of just 14 in the state offering the Wisconsin Seal of Biliteracy.
“It’s a state approved student credential that recognizes our graduating students who have demonstrated that they are proficient in English as well as one other language,” said District spokeswoman Lori Blakeslee.
It’s aimed at helping give students a leg up in college admissions and in the workforce. The district will start with Spanish, French, and Chinese, the languages offered at the school, but will expand to locally spoken Hmong, Somali, and more later.
“We’re planning on adding those down the line because right now, we don’t have an assessment on those that we can use,” said Director of Education Gina Zacharias.
Students will have to test both language and cultural proficiency to qualify.
“Each language has its own different culture behind it, so it’s important to also understand the cultural aspects of that language,” Zacharias added.
That includes things like formality standards in the language. 19 languages are spoken by students in the Green Bay School District.
