Shorewood School District is one of the Wisconsin state public schools that has secured approval from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to implement the Wisconsin Seal of Biliteracy (SBL) program.
Shorewood high school students are now eligible to earn the Seal of Biliteracy. SBL is awarded to graduating high school students who have demonstrated advanced achievement in bilingualism, biliteracy, and sociocultural competence in two or more languages. This exciting development is a significant milestone in the District’s commitment to fostering diversity and cultural understanding throughout the schools.
“The Seal of Biliteracy recognizes the linguistic abilities of our multilingual learners and reframes the conversation around bilingualism in this country,” says Shorewood School District Superintendent Dr. Laurie Burgos. “This award encourages our multilingual learners to maintain their first or heritage language while also developing proficiency in new languages. The SBL is based upon strong research highlighting the benefits of becoming multilingual for individual students. It also serves to raise awareness of the growing demands in our communities, state, nation, and world for people with biliteracy and sociocultural competency. We are confident this program will benefit our students as they take their next steps in their career, education, and beyond.”
Ms. Roxanne Tibbits and Ms. Christine Jacquart, language teachers for the District, led the application process for the program, with the focus on promoting bilingualism and multilingualism in an inclusive community.
To learn more about the Wisconsin Seal of Biliteracy, please visit https://dpi.wi.gov/english-learners/wi-seal-of-biliteracy