On Tuesday, April 9, Coronado students were honored with World Language Awards to recognize their achievements in languages other than English. Students, faculty, and families gathered in the Coronado Performing Arts Center for the evening ceremony.
The expansion of the Coronado Unified School District’s (CUSD) World Language Department is due to the Department of Defense World Languages Grant given to CUSD in 2021, which has allowed more students to reach biliteracy throughout the CUSD schools.
Over thirty Village Elementary fifth graders received Home Language Development Recognition. Elementary students who practice a second language at home consistently are eligible for this award. Students’ second languages ranged from Bosnian to Italian to Arabic.
Eighteen Coronado Middle School eighth graders were also honored at this ceremony with Biliteracy Attainment Recognition. Principal Brooke Falar was in attendance and honored the recipients with certificates.
Student travel and exchange programs, brought to CUSD by CIEE Summer Travel Scholarships, were honored as well. Students from different grade levels will be traveling overseas to study social justice in Ireland, French culture in Toulouse, and art history in Italy, to name a few.
Finally, over sixty Coronado High seniors received the California State Seal of Biliteracy (SSB) in the form of a medal to wear at graduation and a gold stamp on their diplomas. The SSB acknowledges professional fluency with speaking, reading, and writing in English and another language. This distinction began in California in 2012. Principal Karin Mellina and Assistant Principals Tim Kusserow and Brooke Bettancort presented the awards to the seniors.
Senior Mario Moreno got a seal for his fluency in English, French, and Spanish. He shared, “Being bilingual gives you an advantage when you move to college and careers because it’s great for your resume and also it helps with meeting other cultures, which is the best part.”
Senior Sage Frost got her award for fluency in English and Spanish. She says, “Biliteracy is important because it gives you a better world view and helps you connect to people in different languages.”
The number of seniors receiving SSB has increased from years prior, and with the strong language resources growing in CUSD, the number is expected to continue to grow.
After the ceremony, Director of Special Programs at CUSD Shane Schmeichel invited guests to the CHS quad where a mariachi band played and cultural booths were set up. Some distributed ethnic foods for guests to try like the Spanish language booth that served tacos. The American Sign Language table had different alphabets for people to practice with.
