Twelve Urbana High School graduates from the Class of 2021 earned the prestigious Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy. They are:

• Kenia Bravo – Spanish
• Kira Buford-Rucker – Spanish
• Diego Carrillo – Spanish
• Kathryn Choate – German
• Foziea Garada – Arabic
• Banan Garada – Arabic
• Dimitrios Glaros – German
• Theodore Johnson – French
• Lucah Kloster – Spanish
• Michael Mendoza-Perez – Spanish
• Caroline Thies – German
• Francky Maemble Ntomb – French

The State Seal of Biliteracy program recognizes high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in English and in one or more foreign or world languages. The seal is designated on the student’s diploma and transcript. 

Additionally, five Urbana High School graduates from the Class of 2021 earned a Commendation toward Biliteracy. They are:

• Foziea Garada – French
• Banan Garada – French
• Framiel Kashila – French 
• Armand Lubadi – French
• Oceanne Mnyampara – French

The commendation toward Biliteracy is awarded to students who demonstrate progress toward biliteracy, but do not fully meet the requirements of the Seal of Biliteracy.

Two of our 2021 seniors earned both a Seal of Biliteracy and a State Commendation Towards Biliteracy.

“We are incredibly proud of the accomplishments these students have achieved, especially during this challenging year of remote learning,” said Director of Multilingual Programs, Guadalupe Ricconi. “As a District and a department, we fully believe this award will serve as an asset to the students, both academically and in their future career paths.”

Participating in the program encourages the study of other languages, benefits the student by increasing employment and academic opportunities, benefits the global community by communication with people from other cultures, and allows participants to get college credit at public universities.

The students will be recognized at the USD #116 Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 17.