A total of 75 Venice students received the Seal of Biliteracy award for both LAUSD and the state of California, while 33 students received the award solely for LAUSD. Three students, Guadalupe Antonio-Lopez, Sebastien Balembois and Ella Fletcher, earned recognition for demonstrating proficiency in English and two other languages.

The Seal of Biliteracy is given in recognition to students who have studied and attained proficiency in two or more languages by high school graduation.

“Not a lot of people have the opportunity to learn another language other than their own so I think it’s really cool,” said senior Elizabeth Wong, a Mandarin speaker who was very proud of her bilingual accomplishment.

“Being biliterate is going to open up doors for them,” said Japanese teacher Trasi Nomachi. “However seriously students take learning a language, at least a seed was planted so that they know the importance of a second language or even a third language. Most of the time you can get by in English, but if you know another language, you can go even further.”

Students were able to pick up and turn in an application in the Magnet Office or to their language teacher. The application period began on March 11 and ended on March 18.

Those who applied for the award given by the district had to demonstrate proficiency in English by receiving a “Meets Standard” or “Exceeds Standard” on the eleventh grade Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) test and completing all four years of English with an A or a B, or by receiving a three or higher on the AP English Language or English Literature exam.  They also had to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English by completing four years of a language, scoring a three or higher on any AP language exam, scoring a 600 or higher on the SAT Subject Test in a language or presenting an official translated foreign transcript.

Students who applied for the award given by the state had to display proficiency in English by meeting the same requirements for the award given by the district. However, these students had to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English by completing four years of a language and making an oral presentation to a teacher of their desired language, or by scoring a three or higher on any AP language exam or by scoring a 600 or higher on the SAT Subject Test in a language.

The Seal of Biliteracy encourages students to pursue biliteracy, honors the skills students attain, and can be evidence of skills that are attractive to future employers and college admissions offices, according to sealofbiliteracy.org.

Recipients of the Seal of Biliteracy award will be awarded on Senior Awards Night, which is on May 23.