The San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE) is recognizing 1,270 high school students from San Joaquin County – including some from Escalon – who met all the requirements of the State Seal of Biliteracy Award, with two ceremonies this week.

The State Seal of Biliteracy program recognizes high school seniors who have attained a high level of proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in one or more languages in addition to English. The awards help to encourage the study of languages, which benefits students by contributing to their cognitive development while preparing them to join the workforce, both in California and around the globe.

The award ceremonies were organized by the SJCOE’s Language & Literacy Department.

In a Tuesday, April 29 ceremony, students from the Stockton Unified School District were honored, representing Health Careers Academy, Jane Frederick High, Merlo Institute, Pacific Law Academy, Stockton Early College Academy, Weber Institute, Stagg High, Chavez, Edison, and Franklin high schools.

Wednesday, April 30 included recognition for Lodi and Manteca unified school districts, Venture Academy, Delta Charter High School and Escalon, Lammersville, Lincoln, Linden, Tracy, and Ripon unified school districts.

Ceremonies for the State Seal of Biliteracy award recipients were hosted at San Joaquin Delta College, Atherton Auditorium, 5151 Pacific Ave., Stockton.