Dual literacy is a form of bilingual education in which students are taught literacy and content in two languages. Students can earn dual literacy in any two languages that they are learning. These programs can start anywhere from kindergarten through high school. At Southeast of Saline, students can start this process in high school. We will discuss how Southeast of Saline Students can earn the Seal of Biliteracy. 

We interviewed Mr. Settle about the Dual Literacy program at Southeast of Saline. He stated that the dual literacy program at Southeast of Saline holds the purpose of allowing high school students to have an intermediate understanding of Spanish. Once a student passes the test in the language of their choice, and completes four years of high school English, they can be considered bilingual. It is a requirement to graduate from high school to earn this seal. Having completed the necessary requirements will allow the students to be able to communicate with people on vacation who speak Spanish, help at a job, earn scholarships, etc. In order to pass the test, students have to understand these four components of Spanish: comprehensive reading, interpretive listening and reading, interpretive listening, and presentational writing.

Last year, the graduating seniors that earned the seal of biliteracy were Hart Nurnberg and Dylan Sprecker. Hart Nurnberg never took Spanish 4 as a senior, due to it not fitting into his schedule, but was still eligible for it because he passed the test as a junior. The current seniors that will walk away from graduation with the seal of biliteracy are Jase VanAmburg and Mack Johnson. A few Class of 2024 juniors have already qualified, but have to wait until next year when they graduate to receive their actual certificate. Those juniors are Austin Hanson, Josiah Monday, and Brielle Ptacek. 

Each student who passes the test will earn the seal of biliteracy at graduation when they get their diploma they get the seal as well. A couple of the biggest rewards that students can receive after qualifying are that it can increase students’ opportunities of getting scholarships, jobs, and increase their salary. Students at Southeast of Saline have been working really hard in Spanish classes to earn the seal of biliteracy.