Mount View High School’s Growing Biliteracy Program Opens Doors for Students

Mt. View High School and Elementary School students are joined by RSU 3 Adult Education students at a Language and Culture Celebration held by the district.

A collaboration between the World Languages and Multilingual Learners departments at Mount View High School in RSU 3 is creating more opportunities for students to demonstrate, celebrate, and build on their language skills.

The school’s Seal of Biliteracy Program launched in spring 2024, when one graduating senior earned the Maine Seal of Biliteracy. Participation grew from 24 students in 2024–2025 to 33 students in 2025–2026. This spring, eight graduating seniors earned a total of nine Seals of Biliteracy, including the first student in the program to earn two awards.

The school has also expanded its language assessments. In spring 2024, students were assessed in Spanish and Italian. By spring 2026, Mount View High School had administered assessments in seven languages: Spanish, German, French, Italian, Mandarin, Portuguese, and Japanese.

The Seal of Biliteracy is a national academic award that recognizes students’ proficiency in two or more languages and celebrates the knowledge and skills they develop at school, at home, and in their communities.

At Mount View High School, educators have seen the assessment process become an important part of students’ language-learning journeys. For students studying a world language, it provides a clear goal, feedback on their progress, and motivation to keep learning.

For heritage language learners, it also recognizes and celebrates connections to family and community.

Mount View High School Seal of Biliteracy Coordinator and World Language educator, Dr. Anna Thomas shared that, “For our heritage learners, it has meant a great sense of pride and helping them see the value of their family’s language and set goals for biliteracy.”

The program has strengthened collaboration between World Languages and Multilingual Learner educators. Educators and students establish ambitious goals for students, reflect on student progress, and evaluate and strengthen programming to better support language development.

Dr. Thomas emphasized that, “The testing is giving our language students clear targets for advancement, feedback on progress, and motivation for steps forward. As educators, this is also helping us set ambitious goals and evaluate and fortify our programming through constant collaboration across our departments.”

The school’s commitment to multilingualism extends beyond assessment.

In May, Mount View High School hosted its second annual Language and Culture Celebration, welcoming an estimated 150 students, staff, and community members. The event continued the school’s Language Stories series, which invites members of the school and broader community to share their experiences with language, culture, and bilingualism.

This year’s event featured three guest speakers who shared their personal journeys with bilingualism: Dr. Melissa Cuba of the University of Maine, Amelia Rukema of Maine Mobile Health, and musician Jubal Greenwood.

Hearing from bilingual and multilingual professionals helps students see how language skills can connect to their identities, communities, education, and future careers.

Mount View High School’s Biliteracy Program also helps students explore opportunities beyond high school.

Resources and advocacy from the Maine Department of Education have helped raise awareness of opportunities to earn college credit for demonstrated language proficiency. Students are also learning about careers that value multilingual skills.

Connections with multilingual educators and professionals have given students role models who demonstrate how language learning can open doors.

In two years, Mount View High School’s Biliteracy Program has grown from one Seal recipient to a program serving dozens of students, with assessments offered in seven languages. Its growth shows how cross-departmental collaboration can expand opportunities and help students recognize the value of the languages they know and use.

The Maine Department of Education celebrates Mt. View’s progress and the educators, students, families, and communities across Maine working to recognize multilingualism as an academic, cultural, and career strength.

This article was developed in collaboration with Mount View High School in RSU 3. To submit a good news story to the Maine DOE, please fill out the good news submission form.

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