39 TPS grads earn Seal of Biliteracy

TULSA, OK – Thirty-nine graduates of the class of 2019 earned the Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) Seal of Biliteracy after successfully attaining proficiency in both English and an additional language by high school graduation. Students who successfully earn the Seal of Biliteracy not only increase global cultural competence, but gain strong language skills that will help them be successful in college, careers, and life.

Students from all nine high schools had the opportunity to participate in this program, which offered a number of language proficiency assessments in 11 languages. The 39 graduates in the district’s inaugural cohort earned seals in seven languages: Bangla, French, Hmong, Latin, Pashto, Russian, and Spanish.

“We are incredibly proud of all of our graduates, but it is especially exciting to celebrate our first class of students to earn the Seal of Biliteracy. This is an important milestone for our students and for our district as we launch this opportunity for our young people to demonstrate their readiness to succeed in an increasingly global economy,” said Superintendent Deborah A. Gist. “

Tulsa Public Schools is the first public school district in the State of Oklahoma to offer the Seal of Biliteracy in 11 different languages and will continue to offer the Seal of Biliteracy for future graduating classes.