OHS announces class of 2023 Seal of Biliteracy recipients

Published 12:00 pm Thursday, March 30, 2023

Twenty-six Oxford High School seniors were recognized by the Board of Trustees for having recently earned the State Seal of Biliteracy in 10 different languages– a recognition of achievement for any high school student that shows a level of mastery in English and at least one other foreign language, whether as a learner, heritage, or native speaker.

As of 2022, the state of Mississippi never had a student earn more than 1 Seal; Oxford High has far surpassed that number since the school began testing its students. Oxford High School is the first in Mississippi’s history to have students complete an alternative assessment for their language as there was no test before. The number of OHS students to achieve the Seal of Biliteracy is expected to continue to grow.

Taif Almutairi -Gold Seal (Arabic)
Noah Amidon -Silver Seal (French)
Evelyn Barnett -Silver Seal (Spanish)
Natalia Benitez -Gold Seal (Spanish)
Fikir Beyene -Gold Seal (French)
Fikir Beyene- Gold Seal (Amharic)
Claire Anne -Boudreaux Gold Seal (Spanish)
Norah Bruce -Gold Seal (Spanish)
Audrey Case -Gold Seal (Spanish)
Ria Contractor -Gold Seal (Spanish)
Annie Goraya -Gold Seal (Hindi)
Annie Goraya -Gold Seal (Punjabi)
Annie Goraya -Silver Seal (Urdu)
Amelia Greene -Gold Seal (Spanish)
John Bailey (Jack) Hill -Gold Seal (Spanish)
Mina Kang -Gold Seal (Korean)
Louise Lewis -Gold Seal (Spanish)
Charlie Ligon -Silver Seal (French)
Gillian Marquadt -Gold Seal (Spanish)
Alfredo Martinez Perez -Gold Seal (Spanish)
Alfredo Martinez Perez -Gold Seal (French)
Yamato Matsumura -Gold Seal (French)
Yamato Matsumura -Gold Seal (Japanese)
Savannah (Bel) Monteith -Gold Seal (Spanish)
William Riser -Gold Seal (French)
Darlin Saenz -Silver Seal (French)
Darlin Saenz -Silver Seal (Spanish)
Yubo Song -Gold Seal (Mandarin)
Aidan Sullivan -Gold Seal (Japanese)
Aidan Sullivan -Gold Seal (Spanish)
Byron Villacorta -Peralta Gold Seal (Spanish)
Yiping Wang -Gold Seal (Mandarin)
Jane Yant -Gold Seal (Spanish)

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The Oxford School District currently has 33 languages represented in its student body, a unique quality that brings the vibrant presence of cultural diversity to its classrooms. “This is the first year that we have students testing in mulitiple languages. We have one student who will be earning her seal of biliteracy in as many as four languages by the end of the year, ” said Charlie Winnick, OHS French teacher.

The Seal of Biliteracy process at Oxford High is led by French teachers, Charlie and Chelsea Winnick. More information on the Seal of Biliteracy can be found at oxfordsd.org/SOBL.