News Release

April 23, 2024

Nebraska Students Awarded Seals of Biliteracy

The Nebraska Department of Education and the Nebraska International Language Association have awarded 142 Seals of Biliteracy to 141 Nebraska students in April. Beside Spanish, the seals are awarded for students in German, Latin, and Tamil.

The Nebraska Seal of Biliteracy is to honor high school students who have achieved a high level of proficiency in English and at least one other language.

Students apply for the Nebraska Seal of Biliteracy after demonstrating proficiency based on the Nebraska World Language Standards structured around communication, cultures, connections, communities, and cognition within a language other than English.

2024 Spring Nebraska Seal of Biliteracy Recipients

Adriana Cerritos Fremont Senior High School Spanish	Alexis Ruyan-Jacinto Lexington High School Spanish	Alondra Arreaga Lexington High School Spanish
Anahi Adame Carrillo Fremont Senior High School Spanish	Andrea Ramos-Larios Fremont Senior High School Spanish	Angela Valadez South Sioux High School Spanish
Armando Monarrez Fremont Senior High School Spanish	Bianca Ariana Canales Scottsbluff Senior High School Spanish	Blaine Vogt Arlington High School Spanish
Brooke Hilgenkamp Arlington High School Spanish	Brooklynn Butterfield West Holt Rural High School Spanish	Carolina Dancer David City Secondary School Spanish
Clara Ramirez-Reyes Lexington High School Spanish	Contanza Saavedra Aguilar Fremont Senior High School Spanish	Cristina Ramirez Bautista Omaha Central High School Spanish
Dafne Garcia Bellevue West Senior High School Spanish	Daisy Gomez Lexington High School Spanish	Daniel Castaneda South Sioux High School Spanish
Dany Banos-Rivas Crete High School Spanish	Dayanara Rodriguez Scottsbluff Senior High School Spanish	Deyver Monterroso Monterroso Fremont Senior High School Spanish
Diana Lopez-Sagarminaga Lincoln High School Spanish	Diani Munoz Medina Fremont Senior High School Spanish	Diego Calderon Fremont Senior High School Spanish
Emily Vitosh Falls City Senior High School Spanish	Ester Martinez Fremont Senior High School Spanish	Finley Neher Lexington High School Spanish
Gabriela Avila South Sioux High School Spanish	Gilberto Calmo-Martin Lexington High School Spanish	Grace Morris Falls City Senior High School Spanish
Guadalupe De Leon Adame Crete High School Spanish	Guadalupe Pacheco Fremont Senior High School Spanish	Ikra Ahmed Lexington High School Somali Maxaa
Jacqueline Melendez Aleman Fremont Senior High School Spanish	Jaime Ortega Castro Fremont Senior High School Spanish	Jarline Martinez Lexington High School Spanish
Jennifer Ramos Omaha South High School Spanish	Joel Navarro Valenzuela Fremont Senior High School Spanish	Juana Pablo-Raymundo Fremont Senior High School Spanish
Juana Gonzales-Hernandez Scottsbluff Senior High School Spanish	Karen Torres Scottsbluff Senior High School Spanish	Karen Santiago Canseco Fremont Senior High School Spanish
Karla Salgado Arita Lincoln Northeast High Spanish	Kayleigh Cetak Lexington High School Spanish	Keila Portillo Hernandez Fremont Senior High School Spanish
Keiry Hernandez Perez Fremont Senior High School Spanish	Keylin Munoz Medina Fremont Senior High School Spanish	Leonel Navarro Rodriguez Lexington High School Spanish
Liliana Beltran Lexington High School Spanish	Lillias McKillip Lincoln Southeast High School Spanish	Lily Vogel West Holt Rural High School Spanish
Malillany Gomez-Arellano Lexington High School Spanish	Margarita Felix-Orozco Lexington High School Spanish	Marlene Vargas-Urbina Lexington High School Spanish
Michelle Cano-De Leon Lexington High School Spanish	Miguel Hernandez Gonzales Fremont Senor High School Spanish	Miranda Esparza Jordan Fremont Senior High School Spanish
Natalie Cervantes Bellevue West Senior High School Spanish	Nayeli Lupercio South Sioux High School Spanish	Noah Parra Fremont Senior High School Spanish
Pranav Sabarish Thirupporour Eazhilarasan Millard North High School Tamil	Rodolfo Avalos Scottsbluff Senior High School Spanish	Ronaldo Caballero Lexington High School Spanish
Shanteay Arias Lexington High School Spanish	Sheryl Ganuza Herdocia Fremont Senior High School Spanish	Silvia Pulido Castro Fremont Senior High School Spanish
Susi Nolasco Castrejon Fremont Senior High School Spanish	Thalia Gonzalez Barrios Fremont Senior High School Spanish	Valeria Perez Lexington High School Spanish
Vania Gonzalez Alejandre Fremont Senior High School Spanish	Viridiana Gonzalez Hernandez South Sioux High School Spanish	Yasmin Alonso Orozco Lincoln High School Spanish
Zoey Smallwood Fremont Senior High School Spanish

Community support is a crucial aspect of strengthening the foundation of World Language instruction. We are excited to announce new partnerships that will strengthen the Seal of Biliteracy program. In the spring of 2024, three organizations have endorsed the Nebraska Seal of Biliteracy.

The Chinese Language Teacher Association of Nebraska is a nonprofit educational and professional organization. The mission of CLTA-NE is to increase public awareness of Chinese language and culture education, to promote teaching, learning, and research of the Chinese language and culture, to provide a platform for professional growth and collaboration for Chinese language educators and supporters, to serve Chinese language teachers and learners, to enhance cross-cultural communication for the community.

The mission at Nebraska Children and Families Foundation is to maximize the potential of Nebraska’s children, youth, and families through collaboration and community-centered impact. As a statewide organization, we have the privilege to work with many communities and agencies. Our collaborative efforts have been and will continue to be focused on providing the same opportunities, information, resources, and access to our non-English speaking community members.

The Nebraska International Languages Association (NILA) is a professional

organization dedicated to the support and promotion of the teaching of languages in

the state of Nebraska. Everyone who is actively engaged in the teaching of a world

language at any level of education in Nebraska is a member of NILA. NILA connects members with colleagues, best professional practices and resources in the field of language education across the state.

More information about the Nebraska Seal of Biliteracy can be found online at: www.education.ne.gov/worldlanguage/nebraska-seal-of-biliteracy.

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