Breaking language barriers

By: Olivia Morris, Contributing Writer

This year, a group of Centralia High School (CHS) students broke through the language barrier by earning their Seal of Biliteracy. ​

The Seal of Biliteracy is an award that becomes a part of the student's high school transcript. It is awarded to students that demonstrate proficiency in English and one other language. 

This is a huge achievement and seniors Rachael Crow, Abigail McSparren and Ava Page are the first students in CHS history to earn this certificate. CHS Spanish teacher Mrs. Julie Exendine added, “To earn this award these students demonstrated proficiency in English through either their ACT or Missouri English II End of Course Exam.  To demonstrate their proficiency in Spanish they took the AAPPL exam in the areas of speaking, reading, listening and writing and scored at the intermediate level 3 or higher.” With their four years of hard work, deep commitment to Spanish and their perseverance they have opened a large window of opportunity that will benefit them for years to come. 

The Seal of Biliteracy is more than just a simple award. It opens many doors for college, scholarships, career opportunities and even global opportunities. This achievement also reflects the cultural awareness, communication skills and perseverance that these three students will now carry far beyond high school. “This certification means a lot to me. Mostly because it is something that I have been working towards for so long. It feels so good to know that all of my hard work has paid off,” says Page. 

CHS is proud to recognize Crowe, McSparren and Page for this incredible accomplishment. Their determination and success set them apart from other CHS students. This year has set the stage for future high school Spanish students that may want to pursue biliteracy and learn the value of learning languages.