WEST ORANGE, NJ – 21 West Orange High School students have excelled in multilingual language proficiency for the 2020-2021 school year and have earned the prestigious Seal of Biliteracy. 

“Students earn the Seal of Biliteracy by demonstrating English language proficiency on state and local assessments to meet graduation requirements as well as oral, reading, listening, and writing proficiency in another language as demonstrated on a New Jersey Department of Education approved standardized assessment,” explained World Languages Supervisor Felix Plata. 

“Being multilingual is more than just being able to literally comprehend and transmit information from one person to another,” he continued. 

“Knowing and using another language to communicate with other people develops an appreciation of different perspectives and experiences and makes students better communicators and more effective global citizens,” he added. 

In addition to the communication advantages of multilingualism, there is a growing financial benefit as the ability to understand different perspectives and needs is creating a demand in the workforce.  

 From left to right, Giantonella Rojas,  Vincenza Amabile, Alexander Torres and Rosanna Zamloot. Rojas and Torres received the Seal of Biliteracy as trilingual students in English, Spanish, and Italian.