Honoring language achievements

Four Sisters students were awarded for their hard work in completing the English Learners Program, last Wednesday evening at Sisters Elementary School (SES). The four students, two from the elementary school, one from the middle school, and one from the high school, all completed their benchmark levels in learning English through the program in the Sisters School District.

This is the program’s third year and second ceremony honoring students with the Avanza Award, Spanish for “moving forward.” For the past three years the schools have honored four students who have completed the program.

“The hard work these students put in and the grit and determination are what this award is about, and I can’t wait to see you do more things,” said Schools Superintendent Curt Scholl at the ceremony.

Typically, it takes five to seven years to learn a language well. The students being honored, along with their families, worked tirelessly throughout the program to take a deep dive into learning English, as some of the students haven’t even been in the Sisters Schools for more than two years.

According to SES Principal Joan Warburg, “Sisters School District has developed the Avanza Award in collaboration with community partners to honor our emergent bilingual students who have worked hard and attained a level of proficiency in English literacy comparable to native English speakers. These students have demonstrated high levels of proficiency in English listening, speaking, reading, and writing and are successful in their core content classes. Avanza means to move forward, to progress, or to advance. These students have demonstrated that they are moving forward and making great progress.”

Each student was awarded a certificate with their name on it, as well as a special monetary award for each of them presented by the Avanza committee, all present at the ceremony Wednesday night.

The students honored were Kaylie Quiero and Cameron Rowe from Sisters Elementary School, Daniel Riemer from Sisters Middle School, and Omar Huerta Contreras from Sisters High School.

“Many of these students are now bilingual, having skills in their native language as well as in English. It is our hope that they will continue to develop their skills in both languages so that they will find increased opportunities in their futures. We are extremely proud of these amazing Outlaws and their achievement,” said Warburg.