Coronado Unified World Language Department presented its first World Language Awards celebrating multilingual students on April 26.
The first-ever district-wide awards ceremony at the Coronado High School Theater recognized bilingual, including trilingual, 5th, 8th, and 12th-grade students representing the four schools.
Following awards and certificates, recipients and families enjoyed an evening at the cultural fair in the CHS quad featuring multicultural tastes, informative culture booths, and live mariachi.
CUSD Superintendent Karl Mueller expressed the district’s commitment to expanding access to home language development and world languages to enhance cognitive, emotional, social, and future job opportunities.
“This event and the awards given out tonight represent the commitment of Coronado Unified to providing robust opportunities for access to world language in our district, and we are only beginning.”
-CUSD Superintendent Karl Mueller
“This event and the awards given out tonight represent the commitment of Coronado Unified to providing robust opportunities for access to world language in our district, and we are only beginning,” said Mueller.
Expanding world language access
CUSD expanded world language access to its students, including the 41% of military connected students and over 26% of students identifying as Hispanic, with support from a $2.3 million grant from Department of Defense Education Activity, following a 2019 parent survey requesting expanded access to world languages for college and career preparation.
Over 70 5th- and 8th-grade students meeting state requirements for biliteracy pathway awards received Biliteracy Attainment Recognition and the Home Language Developments Recognition, awarded to students who speak a language other than English at home or practice the second language consistently.
Languages represented among the CUSD student population across both recognitions included Dutch, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, Swedish, Portuguese, and Turkish.
One eighth grader received the Home Language Development Recognition in Korean and Spanish
Senior Biliteracy Awards to 51 seniors
CUSD Senior Director of Learning, Megan Battle, and CHS Principal Karin Mellina presented 51 Coronado High School seniors with Senior Biliteracy Awards. Coronado High School recognized California State Seal of Biliteracy recipients in Spanish, French and Portuguese.
There were 44 students who received the state of biliteracy in Spanish; four students received the state of biliteracy in French and two students received seals of biliteracy in Spanish and French.
Robert Valencia was the only student who received the seal of biliteracy in Portuguese.
“This state seal will help open doors in life,” said Mueller about the largest ever class of seniors receiving the seal of biliteracy.
The State Superintendent of Public Instruction, since 2011, recognizes high school graduates with a high level of proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing one or more languages in addition to English marked with a gold seal affixed on diplomas or transcripts.
There were 42 CHS seniors who earned the seal of biliteracy in 2022.
Other student honorees
Other student recognition included CHS student travel and exchange experiences presented by Rotary Club of Coronado and Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE).
Rotary Club of Coronado representative Rob Taylor presented Rafael Roos and Jack Shumaker with exchange experience opportunities.
Roos will participate in a short-term exchange program abroad in Spain, while Shumaker will participate in a summer camp in Denmark.
The CIEE, with 75 years of sending students abroad to learn about cultures, awarded six CHS students CIEE Summer Travel Scholarships to Denmark, France, and Costa Rica.
One student will engage in climate action in Denmark. Another student will partake in environmental action in Costa Rica. Four students will immerse themselves in French language and culture.
Coronado Unified governing board members President Renee Cavanaugh and Trustee Alexia Palacios-Peters were among those in attendance.
Beyond 51 Seals
CUSD’s World Languages Teacher on Special Assignment Maylén Sullivan said the months-long collaboration among Public Information Officer Maria Simon and a team of about 20 to 30 employees, including teachers, school admin and district staff, allowed for a successful evening. She also credited the community and parents for their huge support.
“It took a lot of work to get all these amazing people here, and we’re really proud of the work we’ve done.”
-Teacher Maylén Sullivan
“It took a lot of work to get all these amazing people here, and we’re really proud of the work we’ve done,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said the seal of biliteracy numbers keep growing, and the district wants all of its seniors to earn the seal by literacy in the next few years.
“It’s an attainable goal for all students,” said Sullivan. “That’s why we’ve established Spanish at K-5, we want to create a K-12 pathway so that all our students can earn the seal. Not just in Spanish, but also the other languages… We have kids who speak Turkish, Russian, Arabic, Dutch, you name it. We want them to get the seal in their own language. You can get a seal in as many languages as possible.”
Stepping stone for career opportunities
One CHS parent, Ana Dominguez, shared the joy she felt about her daughter Camilah Dominguez receiving the seal of biliteracy in Spanish.
” That she is doing it and that she followed through is a source of pride.”
-CHS parent Ana Dominguez on her daughter Camilah receiving the seal of Spanish biliteracy.
“I feel very happy because they are recognizing what was always my goal,” Dominguez said. “I always wanted her to graduate from high school being 100% bilingual in Spanish because it is her first language and I wanted her to do it academically, perfectly, like speaking, writing, and reading. That she is doing it and that she followed through is a source of pride.”
Dominguez said Camilah began bilingual education during elementary school and prior to attending CMS and CHS.
It was during her sophomore year that Camilah began taking Spanish classes at Coronado High.
Camilah shared her mother’s joy and said she felt very happy that she was able to continue bilingual education, and she looks forward to receiving the diploma seal and adding this accomplishment to her resume.
She also credits her mother’s efforts in teaching and encouraging her to practice speaking and writing in Spanish.
After graduating, Camilah plans to attend community college and transfer to the University of California, Santa Barbara and major in Political Science.
“I want to help immigrants,” said Camilah. “Hopefully this can give me some opportunities and open many doors for my career.”
Cultural evening
The post-ceremony celebration had taco and churros stands, a lotería table, cultural trifolds and CHS club booths.
Having previously worked at San Ysidro High School, Sullivan arranged for Mariachi Miztli to perform. “Miztli” is Nahuatl for mountain lion or wildcat and references their school mascot, cougars, and they covered songs like “Sabor a mí” and “México lindo” during the cultural fair in the CHS quad.
One cultural booth about Cuba was arranged by the Paula family.
CMS 8th-grade student Livia Paula is of Cuban and Mexican American descent, and chose to present about her Cuban ancestry to commemorate her grandfather’s culture, she said.
