Last Saturday, Zack Kennedy walked across the stage and received his high school diploma along with hundreds of other students in his graduating class. His diploma, however, looks a little different than most others. Zack’s diploma is stamped with a special seal indicating he earned the Oregon Seal of Biliteracy.

This is a prestigious distinction awarded to graduating high school students who have demonstrated academic proficiency in English and in a partner language, such as Spanish. Students must meet all graduation requirements and pass exams to demonstrate the ability to understand, speak, read and write in two or more languages at a high level of fluency. Since kindergarten, Zack learned in both Spanish and English in the district’s Dual Language Immersion program.

Staff from Bend-La Pine Schools support students like Zack through a qualification process, then coordinate with the state Department of Education to apply for the seal on their behalf. Students receive the state seal on their diploma as well as a certificate of achievement from the Department of Education. Most four-year universities give undergraduate World Language credit to students who have earned this distinction in an effort to honor the linguistic skills the student has honed and recruit these bilingual students to attend their university.

Beyond university credit, this state-level award deserves recognition from local industry and business leaders. We know just how valuable language and culture skills are to our economic success, innovation and wellbeing as a rapidly growing and diversifying community. Central Oregon employers should seek and recruit job candidates who possess global skills such as fluent bilingual communication, and the Seal of Biliteracy is a great tool for identifying highly qualified applicants.

Students like Zack enhance the linguistic and cultural knowledge of our community, and we would be remiss to let candidates like him get recruited by out-of-area employers. Zack would prefer to stay in Central Oregon and pursue a career with photography and video production. His friend, Luis Guzman, also earned a Seal of Biliteracy at graduation this June. Luis spoke Spanish at home from birth and continued to study academic Spanish and English throughout his education in Bend-La Pine Schools. He wants to be an electrician and, like Zack, would like to stay in Bend to develop his career and give back to the community that supported his education and language development. Zack and Luis are just two students who can reach their goals with the support of local employers.

It’s critical that local businesses understand this state-level distinction and the skill set that the Seal of Biliteracy represents – for the benefit of the candidate as well as for improved client and customer support, the advantage to the employer and business, and the enrichment of our broader community. If Central Oregon business and industry leaders value and seek out award-winning fluent bilingual speakers such as Zack and Luis in their recruitment and hiring process, these graduates will be able to continue living and working in Bend, our businesses will thrive, and our entire community will flourish.

• Bend-La Pine Schools graduated over 60 students last week who earned a state-level Seal of Biliteracy.
• In this group, common languages other than English for which Bend-La Pine Schools’ graduates receive the award include: Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, French, Hebrew, Vietnamese and German.
• The state of Oregon awards approximately 2,500 Seals of Biliteracy to graduating high school students each year, with an average of 22 languages represented.

• When recruiting for vacancies or interns, communicate that your business prefers bilingual candidates.
• Ask bilingual candidates about their language qualifications and whether they have a distinction such as a Seal of Biliteracy, and factor this into your screening and hiring processes.
• Pay bilingual employees for their unique skill set, either via a signing bonus or a bilingual pay differential (or both!).
• Clearly identify your bilingual employees (pins or name tags that indicate “I am bilingual”).
• Engage with the Bend-La Pine Schools’ School-to-Career centers or the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to learn more about our local bilingual graduates, seek bilingual interns, and engage in partnership with our bilingual educators and students.

Luis Guzman

Kinsey Martin–Executive Director of Policy, Advocacy, and Equity
kinsey.martin@bend.k12.or.us