Seal of Biliteracy

Lawmakers must act to correct flaws in how we teach English learners

MATSOL Community News ,

Letter to the Editor in support of the LOOK Bill and Seal of Biliteracy Bill from Boston College’s Lynch School of Education professor Anne Homza:

I know of no educational research or theory that supports the state’s restrictive, one-size-fits-all sheltered-English approach. In fact, there is no evidence that such a broad yet singular approach to learning would be appropriate for the education of any subgroup of students. The fact that such an approach has been applied to the subgroup of students who happen to come to school with proficiency in a language other than English is highly discriminatory.

The Boston Globe (July 17, 2015): Lawmakers must act to correct flaws in how we teach English learners

Happy Graduation!

MATSOL Language Education Policy, National News

Congratulations to the students around the country who graduated from high school with a Seal of Biliteracy — Let’s make this possible for Massachusetts students as well!

  • Illinois: Nearly 800 Illinois students in Class of 2015 graduate with the Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy
  • New Jersey: Washington Township High School was one of 12 school districts in New Jersey that participated in a pilot program that recognizes students for biliteracy — an honor that is aimed at giving students a competitive edge upon high school graduation.
  • California: The Napa Valley Unified School District recognized 137 high school graduates who attained a high level of proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing in one or more languages in addition to English with a Seal of Biliteracy.

See more at SealofBiliteracy.org.

Seal of Biliteracy

MATSOL Language Education Policy, National News, Seal of Biliteracy Pilot Project , ,

Support the Seal of Biliteracy in Massachusetts! Support An Act to Establish a State Seal of Biliteracy H.422/S.336 and An Act relative to Language Opportunity for Our Kids (LOOK) H.498/S.262.

“A lot of businesses want to know, ‘Do you know Chinese? And how do I know you know?’ And you can have your certificate as verification.”

NPR: On The High School Diploma: A ‘Bilingual’ Stamp Of Approval?

A Leader for Language Opportunity

MATSOL National News , , ,

Each year, Education Week shines a spotlight on some of the nation’s most outstanding school district leaders in its Leaders To Learn From special report. This year, Richard A. Carranza, Superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District, has been recognized for Leadership in English-Language-Learner Education. He asks:

“Why would you not want to produce bilingual students in the public education system? It baffles the mind.”

Support legislation for language opportunity in Massachusetts!

MATSOL Coalition News, Legislative News , ,

LO-Profile2The Language Opportunity Coalition urges you to support two bills filed in the Massachusetts legislature:

The Language Opportunity Coalition is proud to announce that two exciting bills have been filed for the 2015-2016 Massachusetts legislative session:

“An Act to Establish a State Seal of Biliteracy” (HD 1698/SD 1012), filed by Senator Karen Spilka and Representative Kay Khan

“An Act relative to Language Opportunity for Our Kids (LOOK)” (HD2211/SD743), filed by Senator Sal DiDomenico and Representative Jeff Sanchez.

We now believe we can gather the support we need to be successful this upcoming legislative session. However, we need your help!

We want to ensure that as many State Senators and State Representatives as possible sign on to these bills as co-sponsors. The deadline for co-sponsorship is Friday, January 30th, 2015. 

We are asking you to make two phone calls or send two emails TODAY in support of these bills. 

Take action now!

Opportunities Needed for Foreign Language Study

MATSOL Community News , , ,

A report on foreign language education in cities and towns south of Boston, highlighting the disparity in opportunities and the need for a Seal of Biliteracy in Massachusetts.