We are proud to announce that Sacred Heart School has attained the distinction of being able to award the Seal of Biliteracy to graduating seniors.  This seal confirms that the mastery of two or more languages makes important contributions to a student’s cognitive development, understanding of diverse cultures, and economic opportunities.  We are very pleased to announce that we have been approved by The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to award the Missouri Seal of Biliteracy (SoBL)

This award recognizes students who have attained proficiency in English and one or more other world language(s) before high school graduation. The recognition becomes a part of the high school transcript for these students and serves to certify attainment of biliteracy for community, employers, and universities.

ALL students acquiring any language in addition to English are a potential awardee. This is especially great news since The Missouri Seal of Biliteracy is endorsed by a number of Missouri businesses and institutions of higher education, for example:

• Truman State University that will award credit to incoming students who have earned the Missouri Seal of Biliteracy with 6-14 hours of credit, corresponding to Elementary I, Elementary II, Intermediate I and Intermediate II, in the designated foreign language. • Amount of credit granted will be determined by the score attained and by the specific assessment used to confer the Seal. https://www.truman.edu/majors-programs/academic-departments/about-the-classical-modern-languages-department/missouri-seal-of-biliteracy/
• You can check out what other incentives are provided by institutions of higher education in Missouri using the following link. https://dese.mo.gov/college-career-readiness/curriculum/missouri-seal-biliteracy.

With the SoBL, students will be able to finish their college careers faster and at a lower cost besides having additional opportunities when entering the workforce since they have developed other skills that prepared them to face a complex world!

SHS has established the following criteria to attain the SoBL. There are two different awards:

• Distinguished Missouri Seal of Biliteracy.  Need a 3.0 grade point average and an ACT score of 21 (Reading or English) and Advanced level in each domain (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) in AAPPL or STEAMP4s Test (language of choice)
• Missouri Seal of Biliteracy. Need a 3.0 grade point average and an ACT score of 18 (Reading or English) and an Intermediate Mid in each domain (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) in AAPPL or STEAM4s Test (language of choice).

Along with any 2 of the following criteria for either award:

• Community Service Project where bilingual skills are used (min 20 hours)
• Plan and attend multicultural events
• Involvement in extracurricular (2)
• A+ Certified
• Minimum 3 weeks immersion experience

Now is the time for our students to take advantage of this opportunity and get motivated to acquire a second language, allowing them to be able to obtain the seal during their Senior year! If you would like more information about the Missouri SoBL contact our International Student Liaison, Mrs. Talamantes at btalamantes@gogremlins.com