Storm Lake High School’s biliteracy program sets new record for seniors

Storm Lake High School’s Seal of Biliteracy has become more than a celebration of multilingual pride. In a district where language skills can shape college access, hiring prospects and community leadership, the Class of 2026 set a new high mark with 56 seniors whose photos will go on the wall recognizing seal recipients.

That total topped the previous record of 43 set by the Class of 2021, and 12 of the 56 students earned Golden Seal status, a sign of advanced proficiency in a second language. Two seniors stood out even among that larger class: Louse Jean Pierre and Valerie Mejia-Terry each earned two Seals of Biliteracy, making them double-seal students in a program that is now tightly tied to Storm Lake’s future workforce.

Jean Pierre earned seals in English and Spanish, as well as English and French. Mejia-Terry earned seals in English and Spanish, as well as English and Portuguese. Their credentials show how Storm Lake High School’s language program is producing students with practical communication skills that can carry into college classrooms, medical offices, local businesses and public service.

Iowa’s Seal of Biliteracy was created in 2018, when Governor Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 475. The Iowa Department of Education says the seal recognizes students who demonstrate proficiency in two or more languages, one of them English, by high school graduation. In Storm Lake, that definition lands in a district where bilingual ability is part of daily life, not an abstract educational goal.

Storm Lake High School’s 2025-26 enrollment stands at 923 students. The student body is 57.7% Hispanic, 13.0% White, 5.6% Black, 13.9% Asian, 7.7% Pacific Islander and 1.7% two or more races, and 55.4% of high school students are classified as English language learners. The district’s home-language list stretches well beyond Spanish and includes Karen, Pohnpeian, Lao, Hmong, Tigrinya and Vietnamese, reflecting the range of families raising children in Buena Vista County.

That diversity did not appear overnight. A 2024 story said the district launched its dual-language English-Spanish program to respond to Storm Lake’s rapidly growing Spanish-speaking population, starting with 45 kindergartners. The Seal of Biliteracy record now shows that early investment reaching students at the end of their high school years, with language treated as a strength to carry forward.

Buena Vista County’s own history fits the same pattern. The county was organized in November 1858, and its name comes from Spanish, meaning “beautiful view.” In Storm Lake, biliteracy is becoming part of that view too, a credential that reflects who students are now and where they can go next.