Massachusetts Foreign Language Association
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Mass Foreign Language Asso

Help Inform Us on Language Learning in K-12 Schools

IMPORTANT

JNCL-NCLIS invites you to complete this informal survey to provide us with the most up to date information regarding language education in your school/district. By gathering this information, we can better prepare tools and strategies to advocate and provide support. In order to get the best results possible, please have only one representative from your school’s world language department complete this. (Chair of department, if possible). 

If there are multiple schools in your district that offer world languages, please note whether you are filling out the form for your school only or the whole district.

Click here for the survey!

Scholarship in memory of Maryann Brady

Tyngsborough High School has created a scholarship in our beloved former MaFLA Treasurer Maryann Brady’s name.  She passsed away unexpectedly on July 1, 2020. Here is the link if you would like to support it.

The SEAL is Officially here!

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

75 Pleasant Street, Malden, Massachusetts 02148-4906               Telephone: (781) 338-3000

TTY: N.E.T. Relay 1-800-439-2370

MEMORANDUM

To:

Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents, Program Directors, and Guidance Directors.

From:

Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Date:  

January 24, 2019    

Subject:

MA State Seal of Biliteracy

Dear District Leader.

On November 22, 2017, Governor Baker signed into law “An Act Relative to Language Opportunity for Our Kids,” Chapter 138 of the Acts of 2017, commonly referred to as the LOOK Act. The State Seal of Biliteracy is a key element of the LOOK Act. On June 26, 2018, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education adopted regulations that describe the criteria that school districts must use to award the State Seal of Biliteracy.

The State Seal of Biliteracy program begins with the graduating class of 2019.

Participation in the State Seal of Biliteracy Program is voluntary for districts. Districts that wish to participate in the program should identify a primary and secondary contact for communication with the Department about the district’s participation. The identified contacts should:

  • Read the State Seal of Biliteracy Guidance, which you can find here.
  • Notify the Department of the district’s intent to participate in the State Seal of Biliteracy program by sending an email to MAStateSealofBiliteracy@doe.mass.edu;  
  • Follow the email reply’s prompts to the Department’s Web-Based Monitoring System (WBMS) web page to access the approved insignia, and to record the names and contact information for the district’s primary and secondary State Seal of Biliteracy contacts. You can find detailed instructions for how to do so here.

WBMS is an application accessible through the Department’s Security Portal that allows districts and the Department to submit, review, and exchange documents and information. Contact your district’s Data Collection Directory Administrator with any questions about accessing the Security Portal.   

The Department will offer a webinar that will cover key information on implementing the State Seal of Biliteracy on February 5, 2019. You can register for the webinar here.

Please send questions related to the State Seal of Biliteracy to MAStateSealofBiliteracy@doe.mass.edu

We look forward to working with you.

Seal Update:  MA Has Gone Blue!

On November 22, 2017, Governor Baker signed a comprehensive legislation called Language Opportunity for our Kids (LOOK) which opens up the restrictive one-size-fits-all SEI mandate for districts and includes a Seal provision to reward students for functional biliteracy through the Seal.  This is a monumental piece of legislation for the foreign language, dual language and English language learner (ELL) teacher groups who sponsored it.

READ MORE

LOOK_Law_Summary

FAQs

Seal Update

Seal Update:  MA Has Gone Blue!

 

On November 22, 2017, Governor Baker signed a comprehensive legislation called Language Opportunity for our Kids (LOOK) which opens up the restrictive one-size-fits-all SEI mandate for districts and includes a Seal provision to reward students for functional biliteracy through the Seal.  This is a monumental piece of legislation for the foreign language, dual language and English language learner (ELL) teacher groups who sponsored it.

READ MORE

LOOK_Law_Summary

FAQs