Missouri Seal of Biliteracy now offered in Cape, Jackson; CHS trilingual student seeks recognition for May graduation

“What language do you dream in?”

As she pondered the question posed by Judith Crenshaw, who teaches foreign language classes at Cape Girardeau Central High School, 17-year-old Jowairia Khalid paused, thought for a moment and said, “Urdu.”

A heartbeat later, she added, “It depends on who I’m talking to in my dream.”

Jowairia, who is set to graduate in May, is fluent in three languages: Urdu, Arabic and English. Urdu is the language she speaks at home with her family, and Jowairia said she often finds herself silently translating from Urdu to English.

“All the languages I have learned are just interconnected,” Jowairia said, explaining she began learning Arabic when she was 2 or 3 years old.

When Jowairia walks across the Show Me Center stage later this year to receive a diploma cementing her academic accomplishments thus far, she may also earn a recognition no student in CHS history has earned before: the Missouri Seal of Biliteracy.

The seal is awarded to graduating high school students in districts that have a program approved through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and who have demonstrated achievement in English, a language other than English and sociocultural competence.

The Cape Girardeau School District received state approval to offer its graduates the seal in July. Along with Jowairia, Central student Cambreigh Matlock will be testing for the Seal of Biliteracy for Spanish.

For students, earning the seal is no walk in the park.

In order to be awarded the Seal of Biliteracy through the Cape Girardeau schools, Crenshaw said a student must maintain a 2.5 GPA; earn a “proficient” or “advanced” score on the End-of-Course (EOC) assessment, an ACT score of 18 or higher, or an ACCESS exam score of 4 or higher. Applicants must also submit proof of having used the language within the community, which Crenshaw said can take the form of an essay, and pass one of two exams, either the Standards-based Measurement of Proficiency (STAMP) test or an exam through the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).

“It gives the student another level of distinction,” Crenshaw said of the seal. “So it’s something added onto their permanent record, and it just is something that will help them to show that they have proficiency of reading, writing, listening and speaking of more than one language.”

While the additional accolade at graduation is certainly part of the appeal for students seeking the Seal of Biliteracy, bragging rights aren’t its only perk. Students can earn up to 24 hours of college credit by earning the Seal of Biliteracy, depending on the institution a student chooses to attend.

It can also assist students in finding employment opportunities.

“As students put this on their resume, it gets them a leg up for employers, and especially employers that are looking for people who have a world point of view or speak different languages,” Crenshaw said.

The State of Missouri adopted the Seal of Biliteracy in October 2017, and is one of 38 states to adopt the seal nationwide, according to www.sealofbiliteracy.org. In Missouri, there are more than 84 schools and districts offering students the seal upon graduation.

Crenshaw gave credit to deputy superintendent of elementary education Christa Turner for putting together a school board proposal to offer the Seal of Biliteracy within the district. Once approved by the state last summer, Crenshaw said the district was able to roll out the program to students in January.

One of the most appealing aspects of being able to offer the seal to students, Crenshaw said, is it is available to all language speakers.

“It’s not just Spanish and French,” Crenshaw said. “It’s anyone who speaks a second language. So students who are coming here from China, from South American countries, from wherever, they can apply for the Seal of Biliteracy, as well.”

The recognition isn’t just an option for Cape Girardeau students. Jackson School District officials got word of approval from DESE on Monday to offer the seal, according to associate superintendent Matt Lacy.

“It was really driven by a desire from our foreign language department to make sure our kids could have access to this program,” Lacy said. “ ... I think it really just gives all of our kids more opportunities, whether they’re going to go directly into college, the workplace or the military.”

It may be too early to gauge how much student interest there is in the program, Lacy said, but teachers have already begun spreading the word.

“We’re so fortunate; we have some just really passionate teachers,” Lacy said. “ ... They’re definitely sharing this information with our students right now, letting them know what is possible.”

Jowairia is the daughter of professor Tahsin Khalid, who teaches elementary education at Southeast Missouri State University. Thanks to her father’s campus connection and involvement, Jowairia has spent time with Southeast’s multicultural groups such as the Muslim Student Association.

“There’s a lot of SEMO students that are from India or from Pakistan, and they come here barely knowing English,” Jowairia said. “And it’s nice for them to know that someone else can speak the language that they’ve known and it gives them a sense of belonging.”

She’s found a passion in helping students from other countries bridge the gap in their understanding of the nuanced way in which English speakers communicate. That includes nonverbal communication, she said.

“In Pakistan, if you show someone a thumbs up, that’s like showing someone here the middle finger,” Jowairia said. “You could explain to them that’s not bad, or if someone waves to you, it’s a good thing.”

Born in Cape Girardeau, Jowairia said being trilingual has broadened her worldview and allowed her to understand more diverse perspectives, something Crenshaw said the Seal of Biliteracy helps emphasize.

“This helps to signify that we are in a global economy, that we are global citizens as well as just U.S. citizens,” Crenshaw said. “We can reach around the world, and ... that we can speak to other people in their own language helps to narrow that gap and the differences between us.”

Just like many students her age, Jowairia is eager for new experiences beyond the Cape Girardeau city limits.

“I’m itching to get out,” she said. “I’ve been here my entire life.”

After graduation, Jowairia plans to attend Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and plans to double major in broadcast journalism and political science and minor in law.