In its second year of organizing a Minnesota Bilingual Seals Program, St. Francis High School honored 14 students at the Culture Festival on May 21 who have proven their language proficiency. Nine students met the requirements to earn a Bilingual Seal, while another five received a World Language Proficiency Certificate, both of which come with college credit.
One student earned the prestigious Minnesota Platinum Seal, a remarkable achievement that awards her 16-20 college credits.
Neuzet Espinoza Capetillo
These eight students have earned the Minnesota Gold Seal in Spanish, a recognition that not only celebrates their language proficiency, but also awards them 12-15 college credits.
Amado Pesina Barbosa
Ayelen Espinoza Capetillo
Gloria Guevara Mendieta
Cesar Israel Razo
Sarai Mizhirumbay Pallchisaca
Selene Pesina Barbosa
Eric Silva Orozco
Valery Guevara Mendieta
These five students have earned the Minnesota World Language Proficiency Certificate. This achievement awards them 8-10 college credits.
For Spanish
Beatriz Rodriguez Suarez
Emily Valadez
Pedro Solis
For Arabic
Mohammed Al-Fahed
Zahraa Al-Fahed
What is the Bilingual Seals Program?: The Minnesota Bilingual Seals Program is an award given to high school graduates who demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English through tests presented in 10th, 11th and 12th grade. The Bilingual Seal award is noted on student transcripts and the level of proficiency determines how much college credit they receive.
Abby Pemberton, the district’s Multicultural liaison, kicked off the program at SFHS during the 2023-24 school year and first administered a Spanish test for the students. The school now provides the opportunity in multiple languages. For more information please contact Abby Pemberton at abby.pemberton@isd15.org.
Eligibility: To earn a Bilingual Seal, students must demonstrate proficiency in all four modalities of communication (listening, reading, speaking and writing). They must also demonstrate mastery of Minnesota's English Language proficiency standards to complete all required English language arts credits.