8th graders earn high school foreign language credit

MANSON - This year, students in 8th grade in Manson have had the opportunity to take a trimester exploratory class led by Ann Marie Wisdom called STAMP. Students engage in learning tasks that strengthen their Spanish skills in reading, writing, listening and speaking. At the end of the trimester students can take an assessment in Spanish called Avant STAMP. STAMP stands for Standards Based Measurement of Proficiency and can be used to show competency towards high school foreign language credit as well as to earn the Seal of Biliteracy. The Seal of Biliteracy is established to recognize public high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing in one or more world languages in addition to English. Students earn a Seal of Biliteracy on their high school diploma when they score a level 4 on the STAMP test and earn their high school English credits. Forty-five percent of the 8th graders have earned high school foreign language credit in Spanish and 16 percent of the 8th graders have earned four credits and are in line for earning the Seal of Biliteracy. Seventy-four percent of the Latino 8th graders have earned high school foreign language credit in Spanish.