IHS students honored for bilingual proficiency

Published 6:03 pm Monday, June 3, 2024

ILWACO — Friends, family and community members gathered inside the Hilltop Middle School auditorium last Friday to celebrate a group of outgoing seniors for their academic accomplishments — and enjoy some live Mariachi music, too.

Seven soon-to-be-graduates of Ilwaco High School were formally presented with a Seal of Biliteracy at the May 31 ceremony, a nationwide award bestowed upon students who have studied and attained proficiency in at least two languages by the end of their senior year.

To earn the seal, IHS Dean of Students Jackie Hofer said students must demonstrate a four-year level of proficiency in reading, writing, speaking and listening in English as well as another language — Spanish, in the case of the seven students.

A special notation will appear on the diplomas of the graduating seniors as a statement of accomplishment for college admissions and future employers. The students will also receive a special medallion to wear during this weekend’s graduation ceremony.

“It’s an accolade they can carry with them going forward,” said Hofer. “I tell my kids this — and they laugh at me, it’s OK — but I practice my Duolingo all the time; I’m not very good, there is no way I could get four years of anything in another language.

“This year our [graduating] class is about 70 graduates, and seven of our students earned the seal of biliteracy demonstrating that level of proficiency.”

The students who received the seal this year include Kelly Cruz, Randy Galvan, Emily Hernandez Ortega, Luis Lopez Mendez, Elizabeth Madrigal-Ruiz, Karen Moreno Diaz, and Arely Sanchez Dominguez.

Speakers offer perspective

Two guest speakers and IHS alums were also invited to speak during the ceremony: Madeline Matson and Wilfrido Mendez, both of whom are bilingual and spoke both English and Spanish during their speeches.

Matson, executive director of the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum, said she took her first Spanish class as a freshman at IHS. “It felt like a door being cracked open to a new world.”

The students’ Seal of Biliteracy is something that they should be proud of, she added, and said it puts them ahead of the curve and in the forefront of the future.

“Not only have you reached an academic level of achievement, but in my opinion there is more to the story,” Matson said. “For many, if not all of you, being bilingual has made you a bridge for others. You act as translators and communicators; helping family at doctors appointments, navigating bureaucratic systems, translating paperwork.

“Being a bridge is not always a comfortable or fun role, or one that you asked for, but you step in with a skill you have honed to help others. You connect separate communities with your language and you bridge the divide, and you should be recognized for that.”

Pull Quote

‘Being a bridge is not always a comfortable or fun role, or one that you asked for, but you step in with a skill you have honed to help others.’

Madeline Matson, Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum executive director

Mendez, who started attending IHS when he moved here in 2014 and wrestled at state for the Fishermen, said he didn’t know any English when he first arrived. He didn’t know how to talk to or express himself in writing to others when he first came here, he added.

He stated that he believes English is one of the hardest languages to learn, but that you just have to put a lot of effort into it. He said he used to go home from school and put a lot of work into practicing English to get where he is today.

“It really makes me happy and proud of myself because I can understand now, and I want to be able to talk to more people, learn more stuff and gain more experience,” Mendez said.

Mariachi delights

The school’s mariachi band, which consists of about 45 students, serenaded the audience throughout the ceremony.

The mariachi program, which began just in recent years, has achieved incredible success according to IHS music instructor Rachel Lake, who oversees the mariachi band as well as the concert, pep and jazz bands and choir.

“This has been an amazing opportunity for actually all of Ilwaco High School, where they can now see and experience something different and new,” Lake told the crowd, with Cindy Guzman, OBSD migrant program recruiter and bilingual paraeducator, translating her remarks in Spanish.

The group has also performed paid gigs for high schools in Astoria and Warrenton, while the middle school mariachi band performed at Seaside High School. Lake said IHS has inspired at least five other schools to start their own mariachi band.

There has been so much interest in mariachi, in fact, that Lake announced there will be two different mariachi bands next school year, garnering hearty applause from the crowd.

“Cielito Lindo,” or “Lovely Sweet One,” kicked off the evening and featured singing performances from Lupe Munoz-Torres and Luis Lopez Mendez. “Tu Solo Tu,” or “You and Only You” featured a vocal performance from Alexa Avelar, while Kyleigh Kohler sang “Tres Dias” — “Three Days.” Kohler also sang “Hermoso Carino,” or “Beautiful Love,” with Juliet Perez, while Vicente Bautista and Sammy Lloyd performed a guitar duet of “La Bruja,” or “The Witch.”

The evening ended on an upbeat note with “La Bamba,” which Lake said has turned into one of the students’ favorite songs to perform.

“When it’s a priority in the school to make music happen, and to make all types of music happen, it really makes a lasting impact,” she said.