MLHS seniors earn Seal of Biliteracy

MOSES LAKE — Sixty-nine Moses Lake High School seniors earned the Washington State Seal of Biliteracy this year, according to MLHS EL Specialist Galina Shaporda. 

“Any students who speak another language are invited to take this test, and if they score high enough on the test to prove that they are biliterate, they get a certificate.” 

The Seal of Biliteracy isn’t part of any class, Shaporda said. Rather, it’s a recognition by the State of Washington that a particular student is proficient in more than one language. They have to demonstrate mastery of that language as well as English credits through standardized tests approved by the state.  

The tests are available in almost any language you can think of, according to the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, anywhere from world languages like Mandarin, Spanish and French to less-common ones like Irish and even Latin. 

“We have had kids take it this year in Japanese, Ukrainian, Russian, Mandarin, and Amharic,” she said. 

One student, Ruvym Kybukevych, actually demonstrated triliteracy, Shaporda said, earning the certificate for English, Russian and Ukrainian. 

The tests cover reading, writing, speaking and listening in both English and the target language, according to OSPI.  

“It's a high level of academic language that they're proving,” Shaporda said. 

The majority of the students who earned the Seal of Biliteracy were born in the United States and speak English natively, Shaporda said, although some of them may use a language other than English with family at home. That doesn’t always work to the student’s advantage when it comes to showing proficiency, Shaporda said. 

“Some of them speak Spanglish (at home),” she said. “Most of those kids can't pass the Spanish test, because (the test) is very formal. So, a lot of our kids who were born here and speak Spanish at home, they do not pass the test because they don't know how to read or they don't know how to write in Spanish. This is actually proving that they can read and write.” 

Besides the certificate, the students will receive a notation on their transcript that will help them when it comes time to move on to college. They also celebrated their achievement with a dinner at the high school May 21. 

“The achievement reflects not only academic excellence, but also the cultural diversity, dedication, and global readiness of Moses Lake High School students,” Shaporda wrote in an email to the Columbia Basin Herald. “Earning the Seal demonstrates valuable communication skills that prepare students for college, careers, and leadership in an increasingly multilingual world.” 

2026 Seal of Biliteracy earners 

Ruth Babak

Daniel Baez

Elizabeth Barcenas

Allison Brambilia

Ayden Britt-Rivera

Lindsey Campos

Santiago Carrillo Guzman

Davtian David

Itzel DeLeon

Lizeth Deniz-Martinez

Ruth Diaz-Duran

Areli Fernandez

Noe Figueroa

Samantha Garcia

Anthony Gomez-Valladares

Juan Guardado

Adilene Jimenez Rubio

Brian Juarez

Ruvym Kybevych

Marely Lombera

Marlen Lombera

Rey Lopez-Paniagua

Divine Maltos

Erick Manzo-Manzo

Martin Marinez Perez

Andy Martinez

Fernanda Martinez

Janitzi Nazareth Martinez Perez

Ariana Martinez- Mendoza

Aliyah Merino

Jorge Meza

Kaeden Michie

Arielle Montoya

Kevin Mora Huerta

Brittany Morales Solis

Luis Novoa

Brianna Oronia

Joaquin Oronia

Maria Paniagua Hernandez

Keziah Panlaqui

Alexis Quevedo

Arturo Ramirez

Harela Ramos

Karina Rivera

Dayaana Rodalez Paniagua

Aileen Rodriguez

Angel Rodriguez

Kely Rodriguez

Vanessa Rodriguez

Sergio(Vincent) Ruiz Salinas

Jannah Salas

Nathaly Sanchez Gonzalez

Eurydice Sandoval

Bryan Sario

Kevin Segura

Blanca Serrano

Mirella Sicaeros Albonrneo

Edwin Silva Giron

Rudy Tirado

Galilea Torres Torres

Alexis Torres-Saucedo

Nancy Vargas

Ricardo Vasquez Cuesta

Amberly Vazquez Ruiz

Marisabel Vela

Melissa Velazquez - Cruz

Anhelina Yaroshchuk

Ilona Yaroshchuk

Joshua Zamora

Some of the winners were inadvertently omitted in an earlier version of this story. It has been corrected above.