Students Celebrated For Polyglot Prowess

While both mean ​“straw” in Spanish, Wilbur Cross High School senior William Perez cannot explain why he reaches for sorbeto in some moments and popote in others. After years of learning Spanish at home and in school, he just chooses the right word instinctively.

He was honored for that skill, alongside 195 other graduating seniors, by the city’s public school district Thursday evening. Each student received a Connecticut Seal of Biliteracy, an award that recognizes their proficiency in English and at least one other language, in the Wilbur Cross auditorium at 181 Mitchell Dr. 

Seals of Biliteracy are conferred to qualifying high school graduates in all fifty states.

Thursday’s event was the latest celebration of New Haven’s diverse and multilingual community. Since the program began in New Haven in 2018, when just six students received seals in one language, the number of recipients and range of languages has grown each year. 

This year’s ceremony, representing 196 students and 15 languages, was the largest yet. Spanish remained the most common seal: 160 of 196 students were recognized for Spanish language proficiency. Arabic and Pashto followed, with seven seals each. Chinese (Mandarin), Russian, French, Italian, Turkish, and Jamaican Patois were represented as well. 

Recipients came from high schools across the city, including Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School, Hill Regional Career High School, Wilbur Cross High School, Sound School, Engineering & Science University Magnet School, New Haven Academy, Metropolitan Business Academy, James Hillhouse High School, and High School in the Community. 

This year, five recipients were awarded seals for two languages, and one received a seal for three: Chinese (Mandarin), French, and Spanish. 

During Thursday’s ceremony, Perez reflected on how Spanish fluency enables him to connect more deeply with others. With his father, he switches between English and Spanish depending on which language can better convey his feelings. ​“For example, in Spanish, you can roll your r’s on certain words, which makes them more passionate and impactful,” he explained. 

Laila Kelly-Walker, a graduating senior at Co-op, plans to use Spanish in her future career as a nurse. She began studying Spanish in middle school and then deepened her fluency through a study abroad program in Madrid, sponsored by the Council on International Educational Exchange.

“I decided to become fluent in Spanish to improve communication with patients,” she said. Because some patients can only explain their symptoms in their native languages, Kelly-Walker explained, they are not always given treatment that they need. ​“I want to be part of bridging that equity gap,” she continued, adding that she may minor in Spanish at Central Connecticut State University in the fall. 

Between awarding seniors with purple graduation cords and small, rectangular certificates, several students read poems and essays that they wrote in Arabic, Spanish, and Japanese. 

The district also awarded the first-ever World Languages Super-Supporter Award to Khalil Elsankary, owner of Chaps Grille. World Languages Supervisor Jessica Haxhi said that Elsankary readily helps Arabic learners improve their fluency.

“Middle schoolers sat and practiced self-intros with him in Arabic, and he acted like a teacher to them,” she said. ​“They got to experience what it would really be like to order food in Arabic.” She added that he often caters language events without charging ​“nearly enough.”

After the ceremony, Omar Dweck — who earned seals in both Spanish and Arabic — posed for pictures with his mom and friends. Born in Egypt, Dweck said the award meant a lot to him: ​“It was a way to celebrate my heritage.”

Dweck moved from Egypt to Germany, and then to the U.S. in fourth grade. The transition was challenging, he said, in part because English was his third language, and few of his peers spoke Arabic or German. He spent years improving his English at New Haven Reads and now tutors students there. 

He is proud of his accomplishments in English, and he is also a ​“proud Egyptian.” His diploma will carry a gold seal that honors both.