The school will begin offering the Missouri Seal of Biliteracy to students starting in the spring of 2026. The program recognizes students who are proficient in English and a second language while demonstrating cultural competence.
“These three components really fit the profile of an Ignatian Global Citizen,” Spanish teacher and Director of Global Education David Cabrera said. “As we redesign our global education program, the Seal of Bi-literacy is a great opportunity to strengthen the Global Scholars Program.”
Students who earn the Seal of Bi-literacy will graduate with the Seal on their transcript and diploma. In some cases, it may also qualify students for college credit or placement at certain Missouri schools.
“Some state universities may award up to 12 credit hours for students who pass,” Personal and Academic Counselor Calvin Kohler said. “It also tells Missouri employers that you’re a certified bilingual person, which is a real advantage.”
To earn state approval, the school had to show its language programs met Missouri’s standards and that students could demonstrate cultural competence. Much of this was already in place through the Ignatian Global Scholar (IGS) program.
Students can earn the Seal in any language they speak, including Spanish and Chinese, as well as other languages spoken at home that are not taught at school.
“One goal of the Seal is for students to show pride in their own heritage,” Mr. Cabrera said. “It gives students a space to represent their culture and demonstrates that their second language skills are real and official.”
The plan is for testing to be open for juniors and seniors in the first few months of next year. Testing for the Seal will be coordinated through the counseling department, which will help identify interested students, arrange evaluators, and schedule the testing.
The process will be coordinated through the counseling department as they help identify interested students. The testing will be done on campus using approved assessments such as STAMP 4S or AAPPL. Students’ proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in their second language will be evaluated, typically during a testing window of January through March.
Looking ahead, the school hopes the Seal will strengthen its IGS program and further the mission to develop globally competent graduates.
“We’re becoming a more interconnected world,” Mr. Kohler said. “The gap between the U.S. and the rest of the world in terms of multilingualism is shrinking. This program is a step toward the global reality students are going to live in.”
