PSD bilingual students earn credit for native language

A recent test recognized 31 Peninsula School District bilingual high school students — and offered school credit — for their literacy in their native language.

Additionally, 17 of these students earned the Washington Seal of Biliteracy, which is awarded to high school students who have a high level of proficiency in another language aside from English.

The World Language Credit Program has been offered to high school students since 2012, according to Erika Arnett, an instructional facilitator and the district’s English Language Learners (ELL) program manager.

The test covers all aspects of language literacy, such as speaking, reading, writing and hearing the language.

“Overall, the kids who take (the test) do really well. I’m always impressed with how well they do,” Arnett said. “I think our district is more diverse than people realize.”

The test can be taken at any point during high school, Arnett said, but is typically taken by bilingual students during their freshman year in order to better map out their schedule.

Many of the students are first-generation immigrants who hear their native language spoken at home by their parents and family, she said, and others have first-generation parents who make a conscious effort to teach their child their native language.

“At this age, to be bilingual is pretty special, and we want to honor it,” Arnett said. “(It’s) such a great opportunity for these kids. When I get to say, ‘You get four credits for your native language,’ I just love that part. It just seems fair to me that they should get credit for that.”

The backgrounds of the students who tested are as diverse as the languages — which ranged from Spanish, Chinese and Russian to Tagalog, Thai and Farsi.

Rita Serena Blanco, 17, was one of the students from Peninsula High School who took the language test in Spanish.

“It was dreadful,” she said with a laugh.

Blanco, who is from Honduras, is actually tri-lingual. Her first language is Garifana, her second Spanish and her third English.

She has been in the United States for just over one year — one year and three months, to be exact — and has career plans to be a registered nurse and tennis player.

Gig Harbor High School student Fiona Macdonald, 18, was another student who tested in Spanish even though Spanish is not her native language.

Macdonald, a Gig Harbor native, spent last year in Chile on a Rotary Youth exchange program and came home nearly fluent in Spanish.

She decided to try the test for a few extra credits and ended up earning the Washington Seal of Biliteracy.

“I was really happy about that,” she said. “It’s pretty amazing. I’m really grateful for the opportunity we have to test our language skills.”

This story was originally published March 9, 2016 at 10:38 AM with the headline "PSD bilingual students earn credit for native language."