Oregon encourages bilingualism with diploma seals

PORTLAND, Ore. - When Rachel Martinez-Regan graduated from Corvallis High School this month, her diploma had a little something extra - an embossed seal certifying that she is bilingual.

She is one of more than a dozen students at the Oregon high school who earned the distinction based on their proficiency in English and Spanish. The honor is part of a pilot project led by several school districts in the state with dual-language programs, and the Oregon Department of Education plans to make the bilingual seals available statewide next year.

California, New Mexico, Washington, Illinois and Louisiana are among the other states that are recognizing and rewarding bilingual education.

Martinez-Regan said the bilingual program was academically challenging but she's certain it will give her career plans a boost.

"I'm thinking of becoming a lawyer, to give the Spanish-speaking community a voice," said Martinez-Regan, who is half Latina but did not speak Spanish before enrolling in the program. She will attend Yale University this fall.

A necessary skill

Dual-language programs have gained in popularity as employers seek bilingual, bicultural workers, and more parents view bilingualism as necessary for their children's success in a globalized world.

Such programs are offered in Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese and Russian, among other languages. Enrolled students take literacy and academic subjects in a foreign language for at least part of the school day.

Experts say dual programs and the languages they teach also reflect the nation's growing diversity and the fact that students who speak a language other than English at home are among America's fastest-growing populations.

Congress first mandated bilingual education in 1968 to keep non-English-speaking students from falling behind their peers, by teaching them academic subjects in their native language while they also learned English. Bilingual programs were put in place in the U.S. and flourished for several decades.

Migrant backlash

But as the number of immigrants, especially Asians and Latinos, exploded in the 1980s and 1990s and continued to grow, there was a backlash to ensure English did not lose its primacy. More than 20 states made English their official language.

Critics, including some immigrant parents, said such education was costly and ineffective for English-language learners. Several states, including California and Arizona, banned bilingual education.

In recent years, though, bilingual education has regained its popularity and is attracting native English speakers. The number of dual-language programs, which bring together native English students and English learners in one classroom, ballooned from about 260 nationwide in 2000 to about 3,000 today, according to the Maryland-based National Association for Bilingual Education.

"American parents are coming to the conclusion that the lives and the economic opportunities of their children are tied to being bilingual," said the group's executive director, Santiago Wood.

At Corvallis High School, bilingual seals were awarded on the basis of coursework, bicultural knowledge, and a bilingual exit interview and assessment, said Amanda Filloy Sharp, who teaches Spanish-language courses in literature, history and geography at the school.

"These students are not just able to speak academically in both Spanish and English, they also have a deeper understanding of and connection to the local Spanish-speaking community," Filloy Sharp said.

Corvallis High School graduates who earned the seal have the same level of language proficiency as Spanish majors who have earned a bachelor's degree in a university Spanish program, said Ron Mize, a professor at Oregon State University.

"The seal is something students can do to stand out from their peers," Mize said. "That's the kind of commitment colleges are looking for."