Monthly Archives: June 2015

UPDATE: Hawai’i State Board of Education establishes Seal of Biliteracy for Hawaii’s public schools

At the Board of Education’s June 16th General Board Meeting, Board members approved a policy that establishes a Seal of Biliteracy for the state’s public school students. The rationale for the policy states:

“The Board of Education recognizes that there is personal, cultural, social, academic, and vocational/occupational value in encouraging students to maintain, or develop, proficiency in more than one language.”

With this policy, Hawai’i becomes the 10th state to formally recognize the value of proficiency in more than one language for a high school student’s college, career, and community readiness. Unique to Hawaii’s policy is language that enables a student to earn the Seal using either or both of the state’s official languages (i.e., English and Hawaiian).

The Roadmap acknowledges the vision and leadership of the BOE in establishing this policy, and extends a heartfelt “Mahalo!” to the Board, the Office of the Superintendent (DOE), and the many organizations and individuals who supported the effort. We look forward to sharing information on implementation of the policy, and, most especially, to celebrating the first recipients of the Seal, perhaps as early as Spring 2016!

[The minutes of the June 16th meeting are available on-line
(https://lilinote.k12.hi.us/STATE/BOE/Minutes.nsf/ebb43af14ca5cdb30a2565cb006622a8/37ab59463a30dded0a257e7c00710b40?OpenDocument), with discussion of the Seal listed under Agenda Item VI.I Board Action on Student Achievement Committee recommendations concerning new Board Policy, unnumbered, Seal of Biliteracy.]

Read the July 10th Civil Beat article on the Seal of Biliteracy here.

Hawai’i State Board of Education to vote on Seal of Biliteracy policy at June 16th General Board Meeting

Will you help Hawai’i become the tenth state to establish a Seal of Biliteracy?

The public is invited to present testimony at the Board of Education’s General Board Meeting on June 16 at 1:30pm (Queen Liliuokalani Building, 1390 Miller Street, Room 404), or to submit written testimony through the BOE’s website no later than 24 hours before the scheduled meeting time above. Oral testimony should be limited to 4 minutes per person. Written testimony should follow the format presented on the BOE website, and should refer to “Agenda Item VI.I Board Action on Student Achievement Committee recommendations concerning new Board Policy, unnumbered, Seal of Biliteracy” (listed on the agenda for the June 16 General Board Meeting.

As the policy has been revised several times since the original BOE hearing in early March, testimony submitted previously may be resubmitted for this hearing with a revised date. New testimony is also very much welcome. A summary of the Board’s work on the policy, as well as the policy to be voted on is available (here).

A strong show of support for this policy, most especially through written testimony, sends an important message of community support for the Seal of Biliteracy to the members of the members of the BOE, the DOE administration, and the many teachers, staff, and school-level administrators who will work to create programs for awarding the Seal of Biliteracy to public school students across the state. If your organization is willing to step up to make this program a reality in Hawai’i, please be sure to say so in your testimony.

If you have any questions, please contact Dina Yoshimi at roadmap@hawaii.edu.

Hawai’i Seal of Biliteracy — Frequently Asked Questions (Updated June 8)

The State of Hawai’i Board of Education is currently considering a policy to establish a Seal of Biliteracy for students in DOE schools. The Roadmap has developed a Fact Sheet (http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/languageroadmap/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Roadmap-fact-sheet-for-Hawaii-Seal-of-Biliteracy_June-5-2015.pdf (Roadmap fact sheet for Hawai’i Seal of Biliteracy (June 5, 2015)) to address frequently asked questions about the Seal of Biliteracy program, who is supporting the initiative in Hawai’i, the work involved in establishing the program in Hawai’i, and much more.

The Board of Education’s Student Achievement Committee (SAC) met to consider the Seal of Biliteracy policy during its June 2, 2015 (Tuesday) meeting. Board members held a lively and engaged discussion of the draft policy, and the outcome was that a clearer and more strongly worded draft that was adopted for further action. In their discussion, Board members indicated that the language reflects the will of the Board to establish a Seal for the state. A motion to move the policy out of committee for a vote by the full Board after a period of consultation (to allow for DOE administrators and Complex Area Superintendents to review the new changes) was also adopted. Each of these votes was unanimously supported by all Board members in attendance.

Please share this update with your constituencies, colleagues, friends, and others. You should also feel free to communicate your support and appreciation to the members of the BOE who have worked hard at ensuring that an effective policy is drafted and adopted. The past several months have brought measured and meaningful progress. Your support and testimony has been a critical component in this progress. We hope that you will continue to remain actively engaged with this effort as we strive to become the next state to adopt a Seal of Biliteracy.