Caption: From left are Nashoba Tech students Lorenna Teixeira (senior, Ayer), Maria Resende (sophomore, Chelmsford), and Lorrainy Rodrigues (sophomore, Ayer)
Three students at Nashoba Valley Technical High School sat on a student panel run by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education about the Seal of Biliteracy.
Maria Clara Resende (sophomore, Chelmsford, Marketing), Lorenna Teixeira (senior, Ayer, Dental Assisting), and Lorrainy Rodrigues (sophomore, Ayer, Engineering Technology) are native speakers of Portuguese, and Maria and Lorrainy also speak at a high level in Spanish. They spoke on the benefits of the Seal of Biliteracy and their career paths.
The DESE networking event celebrated five years of the Seal of Biliteracy and included workshops on a variety of topics related to language learning, including World Language, English Language, Dual Language and Heritage Language programs.
More than 200 administrators and teachers from across the state participated in the event.
DESE asked Nashoba Tech to put together a group of students who have earned the prestigious Massachusetts State Seal of Biliteracy certification. The certification is for students who earn high MCAS scores in English and also a high level in a partner language.
The students shared their program of study at Nashoba Tech with about 60 administrators and educators, talking about their future goals and why being multilingual is an important employability skill.