The first national Seal of Biliteracy Summit took place in Washington, DC, recently, and representatives from the Maine Department of Education (DOE) attended. The event brought together educators, policymakers, and language advocates to celebrate and promote multilingual education. It highlighted the achievements of students who earned the Seal of Biliteracy, an award recognizing proficiency in English and an additional language.

Among the attendees were Beth Lambert,  Maine’s Chief Officer of Teaching and Learning, and Ayesha Hall, Maine DOE Director of Strategic Partnerships. The Maine DOE plans to use this celebratory platform to continue promoting equitable access to global engagement opportunities for all Maine students. The Maine DOE’s Office of Innovation and Office of Teaching and Learning are working together to create a more inclusive experience for all students by presenting Maine’s multilingual learning and world languages programs as collaborative efforts at the state level​.

The Seal of Biliteracy, endorsed by the Maine DOE and awarded to students in many Maine schools, acknowledges students who have demonstrated high proficiency levels in both English and another language through rigorous assessments. The Seal, which appears on students’ transcripts, enhances their post-secondary and career opportunities by showcasing their bilingual skills​.

In Maine, the program includes various languages, such as Mandarin, Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish, and Somali. The recent awarding process has been streamlined, allowing schools to confer the Seal of Biliteracy directly, making the recognition more accessible to students across the state.

The summit aimed to expand the Seal of Biliteracy’s reach and impact, encouraging more states and districts to adopt similar programs and highlighting the importance of multilingualism in an increasingly globalized world.

For more information about the Seal of Biliteracy in Maine, visit the Maine DOE website.