Alabama-Mississippi
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages
AMTESOL has a new mailing address! AMTESOL PO Box 360122 Hoover, AL 35236
PCI Workshop B
Thursday, January 16, 2025
1:00 - 4:00pm
Montgomery, Alabama
Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa at the Convention Center
Implementing the Seal of Biliteracy: Voices from the Field
This session is a must for teachers and administrators who would like to establish a Seal of Biliteracy program in their school districts. The Seal of Biliteracy is awarded to graduating high school seniors who have earned qualifying test scores in English and in one or more other languages (including sign language). This accomplishment is recognized at high school graduation where students wear a Seal of Biliteracy medallion, and it can also be celebrated at an awards ceremony where students receive a certificate.
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By offering the Seal of Biliteracy program at your school, you can broaden horizons for students who are learning English as an additional language and, also, for those who are learning a world language or sign language. By earning the Seal of Biliteracy, your students can benefit when seeking admission to college and, also, when exploring career options.
In this panel session, the English Learner directors from Mississippi and Alabama explain the requirements in their states for school districts to establish a Seal of Biliteracy program. This is followed by Voices from the Field — language educators from three school districts in Mississippi and three districts in Alabama. These six educators are from diverse districts regarding size, student demographics, location (rural, urban, suburban), years of implementing the Seal of Biliteracy, and languages in which students earned the Seal. As panelists, these educators share insights, challenges, successes, and recommendations based on how their districts have been implementing the Seal of Biliteracy. The session ends with breakout groups where attendees receive additional guidance and brainstorm how to bring the Seal of Biliteracy to their respective school districts.
Panel Organizer
Susan Spezzini, Ph.D.
Professor of English Learner Education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)
In 2020, Susan Spezzini was asked to help draft a projected State Seal of Biliteracy Bill, for which she gathered input from stakeholders in 25 Alabama school districts. This draft served as the basis for Alabama Act #2022-200, which, upon being signed by Governor Ivey in April 2022, created the Alabama Seal of Biliteracy. Susan has also promoted the Seal of Biliteracy by giving presentations in college courses and at conferences, meetings, and other events: AMTESOL (2020, 2023), ALSDE’s MEGA (2019, 2024), Alabama Literacy Alliance (2020, 2024), CLAS chapter—Alabama Leaders Advocating for English Learners (2020), American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (2022, Birmingham Southern College), and Alabama International Economic and Education Partnership (2023).
Panel Moderator
Leah Dobbs-Black, Ed.S.
English Learner Supervisor in Shelby County Schools, Alabama
Leah Dobbs-Black will provide background information, introduce panelists, monitor flow, and highlight accomplishments. As the session reaches closure, Leah will invite questions from the audience and encourage attendees to network with each other.
Mississippi Panelists
Sandra Elliott
English Learner Intervention Support Specialist, Office of Elementary Education and Reading, Mississippi Department of Education (MDE), Jackson, MS
Sandra Elliott will share guidelines and requirements established by the MDE for what school districts need to do for implementing and awarding Mississippi’s Seal of Biliteracy, which began in 2018. In her role at the MDE, Sandra provides professional development and technical support to teachers and administrators throughout the state on best practices, instructional guidelines, intervention strategies, and instructional strategies to support English learners.​​
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​English learner educators from three Mississippi districts will share insights, challenges, successes, and tips based on their district having implemented the Seal of Biliteracy.
Melissa DeAngelo
Director of Student Services and English Language Education, Pascagoula Gautier School District, MS
Melissa spearheaded a pilot Seal of Biliteracy program in the Pascagoula Gautier School District in 2019, which served as a model for the MS State Seal of Biliteracy, introduced the following year in other school districts across Mississippi. She was instrumental in growing Pascagoula Gautier's SOBL program from 5 awardees in 2019 to 30+ awardees in 2024, for a total of 113 awardees from two high schools in five languages (Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Wolof, and Vietnamese).
Stephanie Murley
Director of English Learners, DeSoto County School District, MS
Stephanie was instrumental in bringing the Seal of Biliteracy to the DeSoto County School District, which has one of the highest English Learner percentages among Mississippi school districts. She has worked diligently at growing her district's SOBL program from 2 awardees in 2020 to 33 awardees in 2024, for a total of 120 awardees from 8 high schools in 6 languages (Arabic, Chinese, German, Portuguese, Spanish, and Vietnamese).
Debbie Blackledge
Director of English Learners, Jones County School District, MS
Debbie helped welcome the Mississippi and Global Seal of Biliteracy program to the Jones County Schools District in 2020-2021, becoming the first in the state of Mississippi to implement the Global Seal. She has been instrumental in growing this district's SOBL program from 25 Mississippi Seal awardees in their first year to 32 awardees in 2024. Additionally, the number of Global Seals has surged from 26 in 2021 to 40 in 2024. With this district having a high percentage of students from Hispanic families, most Seals were awarded for proficiency in Spanish, alongside some in Arabic.
Alabama Panelists
Maria Franco
English Language Education and World Language Education Administrator, Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE), Montgomery, AL
Maria Franco will share guidelines and requirements established by the ALSDE for what school districts need to do for implementing and awarding Alabama’s Seal of Biliteracy, which began in 2022. In her role at the ALSDE, Maria provides professional development and technical support to teachers and administrators throughout the state on best practices, instructional guidelines, intervention strategies, and instructional strategies to support English learners.​
​English learner educators from three Alabama districts will share insights, challenges, successes, and tips based on their district having implemented the Seal of Biliteracy.
Nancy Blanco
Coordinator of ESL and World Languages, Birmingham City Schools, AL
Nancy introduced the Seal of Biliteracy to Birmingham City Schools, an urban district whose student body is 84% Black. She has been instrumental in growing the SOBL program from 6 awardees at one high school in 2021 to 27 awardees at four high schools in 2024.
Edmund Martinez
ESL Teacher at Russellville High School in Russellville City Schools, AL
Edmund has been teaching ESL since 2021 in Russellville City Schools, a rural district whose student body is 67% Hispanic. He was instrumental with bringing the SOBL to Russellville High School in 2024, personally conducted the language testing, and proudly presented the award to 43 seniors.
Chad Strawn
ESL Teacher at five schools in Etowah County Schools, Gadsden, AL
Chad has been an itinerant ESL teacher since 2018 in Etowah County Schools, a rural district whose student body is 86% White. Currently working in schools that he attended as a K-12 student, Chad helped welcome the Seal of Biliteracy in 2024 when 8 seniors at two schools earned the Seal in their home languages (Spanish, French, and Chinese).