Seal of Biliteracy
ஜியார்ஜியா மாநில இருமொழி கற்றறிவு முத்திரை
Introduction
HB 879 was signed into law on May 3, 2016, establishing a Seal of Biliteracy for the state of Georgia. With an excellent effort from our Alpharetta Tamil School, Tamil was added to the list in 2018.
Alpharetta Tamil School has been selected as an approved test center by Avant STAMP 2S to take the language proficiency test for earning the Seal of Biliteracy/Global Seal. With the approval of our school as the test center, any high school student can take the test at our school in a much familiar setting.
The purpose of the Seal of Biliteracy
- To encourage students to demonstrate a high-level of proficiency in speaking and writing in Tamil
- Get certified attainment of biliteracy in Tamil
- To provide employers with a method to identify people with language and biliteracy skills
- To provide universities with a method to recognize and give academic credit to applicants seeking admission; and
- To recognize and promote Tamil language instruction in public schools
Seal of Biliteracy Recipients
It is our pride to list our Tamil School students who have already received the Seal of Biliteracy. Earning the seal is not that easy for everyone. But with the proper training and hard work it is possible for anyone. Congratulations to all the recipients. It is noteworthy that our Tamil school student Srija Venugopal is the first to earn the Biliteracy Seal in Tamil in the State of Georgia in 2019. We would like to thank Raja Nicholas, our ATS Board Secretary who initiated this and got it approved with the DOE, State of GA. Our heartfelt thanks to Raja Venugopal, our Associate Principal, Anbu Vincent, Assistant Principal and all the Biliteracy Class teachers for their tireless efforts in training the students to earn the Seal.
Academic Year: 2019-2020
Farrel Raja
Koushika Mohan
Nagashudan Ayachamy
Padmesh Muthu
Srija Venugopal
Academic year: 2020-21
Akash Umshankar
Anirudhah Narayanan
Dharshan Senthilkumar
Divya Kathiravan
Haritha Senthil Raja
Mrityunjay Sivakumar
Nivedha Natarajan
Oviya Sinthanai-Selvan
Rajha Raahavi
Sanjana Ayyappan
Srinidhi Kaarthigeyen
Sudikshaa Anandakumar
Tharani Ramakrishnan Kavitha
Trisha Ravichandran
Academic year: 2021-22
Aadhav Sundar
Achintya Murugaraj
Aishwarya Meyyappan
Akilan Ganesan
Akshaya Ezhil
Bhargavi Kaarthigeyen
Dakshin Vijay
Damodar Ezhilmuthu
Harshini Mahesh
Kabilesh Yuvaraj
Kanishka Prabhu
Nethra Arunachalam
Nikhila Vincent
Nishad Sankar
Reena Thangamani
Sakthi Senthil
Sanjana Arun
Sanjay Shanmuga Perumal
Shrinidhi Somaskanthan
Sidharth Kaushik
Srishti Iyer
Sudhan Sivakumar
Tarkshika Sudan
Varshita Mohankumar
Virthiha Selvamuthukumaran
Yashodhara Velayudam
Academic year: 2022-23
Aadhav Thaniga
Abishek Muthukumar
Adithya Sankaran
Advika Natarajan
Akshaya Yuvaraj
Akshitha Jagadeesan
Anudeepthi Saravanan
Asmitha Muthukumar
Dhanveen Ramakrishnan Kavitha
Divya Glova
Harshaa Rajarajan
Kamna Shree Mohankumar
Kaushiek Rajesh
Kavyashree Mohankumar
Keerti Ezhilan
Lekha Selvakumar
Monisha Thiyagaraj
Nakshatra Vallavan
Nikkil Kumar
Nishevitha Suresh
Poorani Senthilnathan
Raaga Sundar
Rakshaanth Rajesh
Rashmi Rajkumar
Sagarika Sankar Ganesh
Sahith Rajesh
Sarvesh Sathiyamoorthi
Siddarth Suresh
Sidhaarth Ragavan
Sushmitha Arun
Vasumathi Rajaji
Vinisha Prasad
Yaduraj Sunderraj
Academic year: 2023-24
Ananyaa Thulasidharan
Anikshaa Pazhanivel
Anish Raja
Ashritha Arun
Ayesha Thasneem Nagoor Hanifa
Charvika Dinesh Kumar
Divyasri Sureshkumar
Harinii Ramiah
Harshithram Ganeshram
Jyotsna Prabakar
Kavya Bharathi
Kayal Jesurajan
Lithikasree Vijayakumar
Madhava Krishna Senthil Nathan
Mugilan Chinnapparajan
Mukund Karthikeyan
Naresh Nagappa Rajesh
Nidheesh Muniyasamy
Nithura Sivakumar
Prarthana Kanagaraj
Rajitha Rajesh Prabhu
Rathish Raghav RamKumar
Rishik Elayaraja
Rithika Anbarasan
Sanjay Lakshminarayanan
Shaswathi Subbiah
Shreeya Aravind
Sreegan Chandrasekaranjagan
Subhiksha Devi Suresh
Sujitha Muralidharan
Sunandithaa Arunkumar
Vaishalini Senthilrajan
Varsha Sivakumar
Varun Sankaran
Academic year: 2024-25
Aadhavun Anand
Aadhira Vivekanandan
Adhya Saravanan
Akshatha Amarnath
Ananya Mohan Kumar
Anjannaa Jagdish Ramkumar
Avinaash Uthirapathi Saravanan
Deeptika Karthikesh
DhanaSugani Sundar
Dharneesh Ganesan Senthilkumar
Haashnee Karthik
Haasini Senthil
Hrishikesh Mudaliar
Ishani Ramachandran
Jayesh Vijay
Krishnakumar Muthukumar
Mahathi Selva
Mrityunjay Parthiban
Naganishanth Manivannan
Nandika Sagadevan
Neha Ramesh
Nidhish Selva Saravanan
Nilan Pandian
Nirukta Raja
Oviya Sureshkumar
Pranav Sabanayagam
Pranav Suresh
Premika Arunkumar
Rishabh Rajesh
Rithikha Mohankumar
Sanjith Manikandan
Sheravaty Vijay Bharadhwaj
Shivani Aravindhan
Shriya Lakshmi Narasimhan
Shriya Somaskanthan
Shriya Sundaram
Sreenath Arunprakash
Sriinithin Venugopal
Tanish Sattanathan
Thamizhini Senthilkumar
Thanishkka Vijayabaskar
Thaniska Balu
Tharun Prakash Dhamotharakannan
Vibusha Sudhakar
Vignesh Sivasankar
Vishnou Thanabalan
Seal of Biliteracy in Tamil - FAQ
->What is Seal of Biliteracy?
It is an award for a high school student for being proficient in one or more languages in addition to English.
->What are the benefits?
- The Biliteracy Seal denotes that a student is proficient in Tamil in addition to English
- A golden Seal would be added to their high school diploma
- Receiving a congratulatory letter from the Georgia Department of Education
- This will useful for both college admissions and further employments
->Who are not eligible for Seal of Biliteracy exams?
- Elementary and Middle school students
- Current Tamil school students who still haven’t graduated from Tamil school
- Those who have not completed English language arts requirements in their High school
->Is High School credit for Tamil same as Seal of Biliteracy?
No. Seal of Biliteracy is different from earning HS credit for Tamil. Earning HS credit does not mean earning Seal of Biliteracy, they are mutually exclusive. HS credit will be issued, upon graduating from ATS, by respective Fulton County and Forsyth County school systems.
On the other hand, Seal of Biliteracy will be issued by the State of Georgia Department of Education (DOE). To earn Seal of Biliteracy, students would have to take a separate, additional Tamil proficiency test. Graduating from Tamil school is not a requirement.
->What is the process to get Biliteracy Seal?
- Enroll for a prep class at ATS
- Upon completing the prep class, register for the exam
- Avant for Forsyth students (you can take it at Alpharetta Tamil School)
- Alta for Fulton students (which you have to take it at your respective HS)
- Demonstrate “Intermediate-High” in Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
->What is the Seal of Biliteracy prep class?
Seal of Biliteracy prep class at ATS, which typically run for 15 weeks. The classes are small with 10-12 students in each class which allows the teacher to provide individual attention. This prep class focuses on
- Applied Tamil language skills; refreshing what they have studied
- Demonstrating proficiency in Tamil to discuss contemporary issues
- Improving critical thinking (outside the box) to provide different perspective on topics
- Showcase all the Tamil language arts – Grammar, Vocabulary, Literature, Culture etc.
- Improving speaking skills, typing in Tamil, and time management.
->Is there a fee associated with the prep class for SOB?
Yes, $150 per student (As of Aug, 2024)
The fees will cover prep classes, mock exams, test center logistics, test administration, Global seal medals/certificates but not the Avant or Alta exam fees.
->Can non-ATS alumni (from outside of ATS) joins the Seal of Biliteracy prep class?
Yes, this prep class is open to all high school students in the state of GA. Students graduated from other Tamil schools can also register and join the prep classes.
->How long is the Seal of Biliteracy exam?
Normally it takes 4 to 6 hours for Avant and Alta exams.
Alta exam for Fulton county students will be scheduled by your HS counselor at your HS.
->Can Fulton county student retake the Alta Seal of Biliteracy exam if he/she does not get sufficient scores?
For Fulton county students, no retake is allowed.
->Can Forsyth county student retake the Avant Seal of Biliteracy exam if he/she does not get sufficient scores?
Yes. They can retake the until they get the required minimum score. There will be a fee of $10 for each section of the retake each time.
Please note, there is no limits on number of retakes. Students can continue to retake till they get the required minimum score in each section.
->Do Parents need to support anything at-home?
Yes, parent support at-home is very very important.
Each class will be about 90 mins and so practice at home and spelling corrections, sentence formation, review of homework will all have to be done by the parents.
Parents always need to talk to the kids in Tamil so they can improve their speaking skills.
Without parent support, kids cannot finish the exam successfully.
->Where can we get additional info on GA DOE Biliteracy, Avant and Alta exam info?
GA State DOE info: DOE Seal of Biliteracy
Forsyth County Exam info: Avant
Fulton County Exam info: ALTA
The Global Seal for Tamil
->What is Global Seal?
It is an award given by 3rd party organization, The Global Seal, for a high school student for being proficient in one or more languages in addition to English. Please refer for more info here.
->Do the students need to take a separate exam for Global Seal?
No, the same exam they take for GA Seal of Biliteracy will be sufficient. But the required minimum score in each section of the Avant STAMP 2S exam is less than the GA Seal of Biliteracy. Student will have to score a minimum of 5 marks in the exam (GA DOE needs a minimum of 6 marks for State Seal of Biliteracy)
->Do the students need to apply for Global Seal?
No, ATS will apply for the Global Seal on behalf of students who have received required minimum score, which 5 or more in each section in the Avant STAMP 2S exam.