Oakland Schools is deeply committed to supporting opportunities for students to learn additional languages and strengthen their native/heritage languages. We collaborate with Oakland County LEAs and PSAs to prepare graduates with the linguistic, cultural, socio-emotional and academic competencies required for college, career, and civic participation in a diverse multilingual world. We also partner with educators and leaders to support the use of evidence-based practices in language acquisition, instruction, assessment and leadership for all world and heritage language students. Additionally, we support the recognition of students' multilingual competencies through the Michigan Seal of Biliteracy.

What is the Michigan Seal of Biliteracy?

The Michigan Seal of Biliteracy recognizes high school graduates who exhibit language proficiency in English and at least one additional world language.

Who can earn the Michigan Seal of Biliteracy?

The Seal may be awarded to any student receiving a high school diploma, a high school certificate of completion, or a high school equivalency certificate and who has demonstrated Intermediate High Proficiency on an acceptable world language assessment.

How do students earn the Michigan Seal of Biliteracy?

Students earn the Michigan Seal of Biliteracy by: meeting state and district graduation requirements demonstrating Intermediate High Proficiency in a World Language.

How do students demonstrate Intermediate High proficiency?

There are three paths to demonstrating Intermediate High proficiency: providing official transcripts/documentation from a school abroad, showing at least one year (in Grade 6 or higher) in which the language used for instruction was a language other than English scoring Intermediate High or higher on a commercially approved language assessment or demonstrating Intermediate High proficiency using the alternative process for assessment.

How might students benefit from the Michigan Seal of Biliteracy?

Students are honored and recognized for maintaining their home/heritage languages and/or learning additional languages. Students can provide employers with documentation of their biliteracy skills. Some universities offer credit and/or placement for the Michigan Seal of Biliteracy.

How does Oakland Schools support districts with the Michigan Seal of Biliteracy?

Oakland Schools distributes promotional materials about the Michigan Seal of Biliteracy. Oakland Schools supports districts in implementing the Michigan Seal of Biliteracy. Oakland Schools subsidizes the cost of STAMP testing for the Michigan Seal of Biliteracy for districts in Oakland County.