Graduates from TPS Earn Seal of Biliteracy

TULSA, OK -- Seventy-six graduates of the class of 2020 earned the Tulsa Public Schools Seal of Biliteracy after successfully attaining proficiency in both English and an additional language by high school graduation.

In its second year of the program, Tulsa Public Schools more than doubled the number of graduates to earn the Seal of Biliteracy. The 76 graduates in the district’s second cohort earned seals in six languages: Chinese, French, Indonesian, Spanish, Yoruba, and Zomi. Tulsa Public Schools is the first school district in the State of Oklahoma to award the Seal of Biliteracy in Chinese, Indonesian, Yoruba, and Zomi languages.

Students who successfully earn the Seal of Biliteracy

not only increase global cultural competence, but also gain strong language skills that will help them be successful in college, careers, and life. Students from eight high schools participated in this program, which offered a number of language proficiency assessments in seven languages.

“We are incredibly proud of all of our graduates, but it is especially exciting to celebrate our second class of students to earn the Seal of Biliteracy,” said Superintendent Deborah A. Gist. “To see the number of students who earned this honor more than double in the district’s second cohort is incredibly exciting. This is an important milestone for our students and for our district as we expand this opportunity for our young people to demonstrate their readiness to succeed in an increasingly global economy.”

Thirty-nine graduates of the class of 2019 earned the Tulsa Public Schools Seal of Biliteracy after successfully attaining proficiency in both English and an additional language by high school graduation. Tulsa Public Schools was the first public school district in the State of Oklahoma to offer the Seal of Biliteracy in 11 different languages in 2019 and will continue to offer the Seal of Biliteracy for future graduating classes.