SAUGUS — Students gathered in the conference room of Saugus High School’s main office to attend a breakfast celebrating their achievement of obtaining the Seal of Biliteracy, a first for the school district.
Recipients of the seal were greeted with a light breakfast of bagels, muffins, donuts, fruit, and breakfast drinks with Saugus Public Schools officials and educators, including Superintendent Michael Hashem, High School Principal Brendon Sullivan, and English Language Learner Coach and Coordinator Gosia Knupp.
“For the rest of your life, you get to take advantage of your skills,” Knupp said to the students.
The vast majority of the students said that they decided to take the test for the seal to help with their career aspirations.
“I grew up speaking Portuguese and English,” Maria Clara Dias said. “I just wanted to see what level I am. And, it’s good for my career — I want to be a lawyer.”
Yona Souza Magal echoed this sentiment, saying it is easier for bilingual people to find job opportunities.
“I’m so proud of each and every one of you,” Hashem said to the recipients.
When asked about the success of the program, Knupp said that of the 21 students who took the test, 15 received the seal.
“That is a very high rate. I’ve looked at other districts, and they would have maybe 50 students take the tests and 10 get the seal,” Knupp said. “So, we’re very happy with how many students qualify… It is to their credit, and to the credit of their parents, that they were able to keep (their language literacy) up at a high level.”
Knupp said that because the seal is offered, the school needs to accommodate all languages, “even obscure dialects.”
While a majority of the tests taken are through a servicer called Avant Assessment, additional servicers are sought to proctor tests in languages not offered by Avant.
Knupp said that the school’s acknowledgement of the value of bilingualism and biliteracy is very validating. She moved to the United States from Poland at the age of 25, and her career and life have been dedicated to working with language.
“We currently have 380 English learners in SPS. When I started, eight years ago, there were 120,” Knupp said. “We have currently 30% in SPS speaking another language at home… all these students could potentially try and earn that award.”
Knupp said that she expects doubled participation in the program in the future. She added that the program will be offered to juniors in the future as well.
Sullivan also said that he expects participation in the program to increase over time. He said that the students “really took it and ran with it.”
“They really tried hard, they did a tremendous job,” Sullivan said. “It was a huge success.”
Sullivan said that seeing the students receive the award was “wonderful.”
“They are really determined, thoughtful students who care deeply about their learning and being prepared for life,” he said.
