Twelve Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students earned the Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy for the Fall 2024 semester.
The Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy is awarded each spring and fall to students in ninth through 12th grades who demonstrate a proficiency in English and at least one other language before graduating high school.
The program is sponsored by the Arkansas Foreign Language Teachers Association and the Arkansas Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. The Arkansas Department of Education officially endorsed the seal in June 2018. The Seal of Biliteracy program is recognized in 49 states and Washington, D.C.
ASMSA students who earned the seal this fall include:
- Morgan Broadway, a senior from Mablevale, Spanish;
- Alice Dong, a senior from Arkadelphia, Chinese;
- Madeline Liachenko, a senior from Benton, Russian;
- Emily Lin, a junior from Little Rock, Chinese;
- Preston Lowe, a senior from Mayflower, Spanish;
- Kelvin Orduna, a senior from Huntsville, French;
- Yongjun Park, a junior from Maumelle, Korean;
- Meera Patel, a senior from Hot Springs, French;
- Sage Torres, a senior from Fairfield Bay, Spanish;
- Kris Torres, a senior from Fairfield Bay, Spanish;
- Jonathan Tucker, a senior from Batesville, Spanish; and
- Luis Vidal Jr., a junior from Fort Smith, Spanish.
Since the 2017 pilot year in Arkansas, a total of 6,017 students from 108 high schools around the state have attained this certification across 32 languages other than English, according to a release from the Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy Committee.