SCSD Students Celebrate Culture and Language through Pathways to the Seal Program
“You know what your superpower is?” Syracuse STEM at Blodgett Principal Harry Valentin posed the question to his students.“Being bilingual?” one student asked in response.
“That’s right,” Dr. Valentin said. “This program has helped you develop your leadership skills, your communication skills, and your pride. These are all skills that will help you in your life.”
Pre-K, 5th and 8th grade students who are on the path to acquiring new languages – or developing existing languages – had the opportunity this year to maintain and develop their biliteracy, thanks to a new Pathways to the Seal of Biliteracy Program.
The program is intended to help affirm positive attitudes toward multilingualism and encourage students along the path of bilingualism. More than 100 students from 11 SCSD schools (Porter, Franklin, Syracuse STEM at Blodgett, Dr. Weeks, Grant, Syracuse Latin, Webster, Huntington, Lincoln, Ed Smith, and Salem Hyde) participated in the first year of the program!
Syracuse Latin English as a New Language (ENL) teacher Galina Peschel came to the United States when she was 25. Her first language is Ukrainian. Her second is Russian. Then came German, Polish, and finally, English.
“I keep saying: I wish I learned languages the way I’m teaching them now,” she laughed. “This program definitely would have helped me.”
Pathways to the Seal isn’t just for English as a New Language students – it’s for students who are either maintaining or trying to develop fluency in a new language. Students who are learning a foreign language through school are encouraged to participate as well – with the hope that the students will continue to strengthen their bilingualism and biliteracy throughout their schooling and ultimately earn the New York State Seal of Biliteracy when they graduate from high school.
“I like dealing with people and figuring things out,” Syracuse STEM at Blodgett 8th grader Solieris Centeno said, noting her interest in pursuing the Forensic Science CTE program at PSLA at Fowler. “I lost my friend as the result of community violence, so that makes me want to pursue a career in criminal justice even more. I appreciate the Pathways to the Seal program because it gave me great experiences and helped me face my fears of speaking in front of people. I love being bilingual! Sometimes, people may only speak one language – like Spanish – and especially in emergencies, they may need help getting or expressing information. I’ll be able to help with that!”
“This program is important because it helps the students build stronger language skills and stronger cultural identity,” Ms. Peschel shared. “It helps increase awareness of being biliteral. Our students have become so happy to share their cultures with other people. My favorite part is seeing them share their culture – not just with me, but with each other. They’re now comfortable and confident and excited to share who they are!”
Syracuse STEM at Blodgett ENL teacher Alysha Bates said that for her students, she’s seen them expand from self-confidence to cultural confidence.
“The Pathways to the Seal of Biliteracy program has provided our students with a structured opportunity to utilize and cultivate their bilingual skills,” she shared. “In this way, the program helped our students shift their perception of where and how their home language should be used. During the course of this program, I saw and heard my students' discourse improve - they became more fluid with their use of language and were intentional about using the language which they felt fit their current task best. For example, one of our students, Hector, initially told me that he planned to write his memoir in English; but once he completed his planning in English, he ultimately decided to write his memoir in Spanish. The way he navigated these tasks using both languages is exactly what we want our students to be comfortable doing. This program proved to students that their home language is not a stepping stone for learning English - their home language is an equally valid, equally academic, equally professional means of communication. Their home language is worth remembering, developing, and utilizing.”
Ms. Peschel noted that her 5th and 8th grade Pathways to the Seal students speak Spanish, Nepali, Burmese and Arabic – and the students have already found ways to use those languages within their own school building and beyond. She said students have visited younger students’ classrooms and have read to younger students who share the same home language, helping to translate various passages. They’ve even helped serve as translators outside of the classroom – one student, who speaks Nepali, has helped a friend on the soccer team who sometimes struggles with a language barrier.
At Dr. Weeks, students had an opportunity to get a head start on the Pathways to the Seal program over the summer. Their focus was creating a cultural cookbook of recipes that students and their families cook, taking pictures of the food and writing out recipes in both English as their home language. Languages represented included Spanish, Somali, Karen, Swahili and Arabic!
“Before Pathways to the Seal, I did not know much about my culture,” Dr. Weeks fifth grader Pascaline Kaburo, who speaks Swahili, shared. “Pathways to the Seal brought me closer to my culture. I would talk to my family and we would talk about our family’s history. This program is very important to me because it brought me closer to my beautiful country and helped me learn the importance of other people's cultures. It has changed my life!”
Pascaline is currently working toward the 5th grade Emergent Biliteracy Award and says she plans to pursue earning the Seal of Biliteracy in high school.
“I love watching students’ confidence grow and hearing how this program inspires them to pursue the Seal of Biliteracy in high school,” Dr. Weeks ENL teacher Madison Shaw said. “I also love how this program is accessible to students of all language abilities and promotes pride in one's culture and language. It is amazing to be part of this experience, and I consider this a great learning experience for myself as I learn a language alongside of my students and show how I value and appreciate this experience, too!”
Porter ENL teacher Sunny Li said she also appreciates the opportunity that Pathways to the Seal offers her students – who speak Spanish, Nepali, Pashto, Somali, Swahili, and Farsi.
“For our 5th graders, it gives them a good idea for when they go to middle and high school for language learning and if they want to choose another language to study,” she shared. “We also foster that mindset that we value their culture and language development. It’s a strong message to the students and their families. When I call the families, they’re very excited. They never thought that we’d also give them the opportunity to practice their home language in the school setting. It’s empowering for the students, families, and the community. Our students are now advocating for other students. We don’t want them to feel they’re the ‘others.’ I’ve really encouraged them that this isn’t something we should be shy about – it’s something special. Not everyone can speak more than one language. We should be proud of that ability! Now, they’ve started to find common things among different cultures. They’ll say, ‘hey, I eat that, too – but we call it something different!’ This program is giving them a positive environment where they feel really comfortable opening up. The confidence they’re gaining is great. It’s not just given them language development experience – but also life experience.”
At the elementary level, to wrap up the year in their Pathways to the Seal program, students were asked to give a PowerPoint presentation. They shared information about themselves, three reasons why they think biliteracy is important, and something they learned from the experience participating in the program. At least three slides were done in their home language.
Salem Hyde students completed their presentations in Spanish, Arabic, and Mandarin.
“We have absolutely loved implementing this program this school year,” Salem Hyde English as a New Language (ENL) teacher Jen Haynes said. “Students showed a great sense of pride for being a part of the work that showcased a talent I don't even think they gave themselves enough credit for. The students have varying levels of biliteracy; therefore, the project was slightly more changing for some of the students than others. But they never gave up, which only showed us how highly they regard their language and their connection to it! My main take away is that showcasing language and culture brings whole building awareness which allows our students and their families to take great pride in themselves, instead of always just appreciating the mainstream culture.”
At the middle school level, students met monthly to help stay on track with their work. By the end of the school year, they needed to complete one oral language project – which could be an interview with a bilingual person or an oral presentation about a career and how bilingualism could help them in that career; as well as a written project – a personal memoir written in the target language, or a response essay from having attended two cultural events. Middle school students were also tasked with completing 10 hours of community service.
Grant Middle School students earned community service hours by translating for families and new English as a New Language (ENL) students as Language Ambassadors, as well as assisting neighbors and other community members in their daily lives. The 15 students who completed the program this year spoke 10 different languages: Arabic, Dari, Somali, Swahili, French, Spanish, Karen, Vietnamese, Turkish, and Nepali.
“I really love how the program supported ENL students of all proficiency levels, as well as native English speakers learning Spanish,” Grant ENL teacher Tiffany Duquette shared. “The program promotes bilingualism as a gift that should be embraced for all students. I have newly arrived English Language Learners who are participating in this program. Far too often, our students’ initial reaction to arriving in the U.S. is to drop their home language and ‘Americanize.’ I believe that embracing students’ home languages and cultures in a way that shows that they are valued and important is one of the most crucial things we can do to keep students’ identities intact. Being bilingual is a gift, and I want to ensure that our students realize that and work to maintain language proficiency and literacy in their home languages.”
Webster ENL teacher Maria VanRiper, who herself grew up hearing a language other than English spoken at home, said the Pathways to the Seal program is ultimately going to help students in the future more than they can even imagine right now.
“As I worked with students on the Pathway to the Seal program at Webster, I realized how enriching this would be for all children to have a connection with their foundation for life,” she explained. “We are a subtractive society; however, the education system should think of primary languages from other cultures as a giant plus and build upon them! I have been telling my students that their home language is a part of them, and they should continue to remember and speak it for the rest of their lives. It has been proven that more of their brain is used when they know and use more languages. In the future, they will be able to speak to people who may need help with directions, health, safety, and more. If they follow through with the Seal of Biliteracy program through 12th grade, they could even be able to make more money in their future job! There are many more opportunities for them that they don't even realize at this young age, but I believe it is my responsibility as a multilingual educator and citizen to help them to reinforce their home language which will only help them in their future.”
We’re so proud of the students who participated in the first year of the Pathways to the Seal program – we can’t wait to cheer you on in a few years as you earn your Seal of Biliteracy at graduation!
