Wallingford-Swarthmore aims to award Pennsylvania Seal of Biliteracy to graduating students

District staff briefed the Educational Affairs Committee on plans to pursue recognition of the Pennsylvania Seal of Biliteracy for qualifying students and to award seals at senior awards night, presenting an initial list of eligible students and languages.

"Initially, the conversation started for our EL students, so that we recognize the language that they're hominin, that they come to us," said a staff presenter who described outreach from English-language development and world-language teachers. The district listed German, Spanish, French and Chinese among the languages for which students may qualify this year and said two students were eligible for recognition in Arabic.

Presenters said the Seal of Biliteracy program, administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, recognizes both multilingual learners and native-born students who have achieved proficiency in a second language. Staff described plans to help cover exam costs for students who could not afford testing fees and to encourage eligible students to participate.

The district reported an initial count for the current school year: six students for German, seven for Spanish, two for French, five for Chinese, and two multilingual learners for Arabic (as presented). Staff said the district’s goal is to recognize recipients at senior awards night.

Committee members voiced support and asked for comparisons with other districts; staff said they will collect additional participation data. Presenters described the registration and recognition process as administrative and stated the effort would be integrated into existing ELD and world-language programming. No formal board action was taken; the item was presented as informational.