SOUTH DEERFIELD — As the school looks to bring more language learning opportunities to students, three soon-to-be Frontier Regional School graduates have taken an extra step to showing off their language skills.

Jonathan Olvera-Aguilera, Perla Ordaz and Ben Cachiguango have all attained the Seal of Biliteracy in Spanish, which is an award given by a school district in recognition of students who have studied and attained proficiency in two or more languages by graduation. The Seal of Biliteracy, which was adopted by Massachusetts in 2017, is commemorated by a gold seal that goes on the student’s high school diploma.

The three seniors said they have Spanish backgrounds at home and the seal is an opportunity to take a deeper dive into the world of language, which they say helps them connect to the millions of Spanish speakers in the U.S., as well as around the world.

“Language isn’t only about communication; it’s also about learning about different cultures. There’s some things in Spanish that you can’t translate to English and vice versa,” Olvera-Aguilera said. “Learning about different cultures through different languages is something that’s amazing. I feel like everyone should try and do it.”

To receive the seal, students can take the Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL) exam, which measures reading comprehension, writing, listening and speaking of a foreign language. Additionally, the seal requires students to pass the English portion of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test.

Ordaz said having an additional language in her repertoire allows her to connect with people where they’re at, and it is helpful not only in school and at home with her family, but also when working.

“I feel very accomplished because when I was younger in elementary school, I didn’t really know that much English, so it felt like a barrier,” Ordaz said. “Now, knowing two languages is something that will help me.”

On top of building academic skills, Frontier Spanish teacher Pamela Sharron said learning a second language brings a bevy of benefits to people, as they can directly empathize with and relate to people that they otherwise might not be able to.

“They’re building global intelligence. … Having that cultural knowledge and empathy and ability to relate to people, suddenly you become an advocate for people who don’t have a voice,” Sharron said. “You’re learning about culture, you’re learning about empathy, you’re learning about what’s going on in the world. It’s an important skill to have.”

Ordaz, who works on a farm that employs workers whose primary language is Spanish, said being able to connect with the farmworkers is a way to help them advocate for themselves.

“I think emotional connection and just being able to understand people overall is just a huge advantage to knowing two languages,” Ordaz said. “[The farmworkers] come up to me sometimes, asking for help with paperwork or other things, and I think supporting them and helping them is just a really big thing.”

For the first time, Sharron, who has been at the school for a dozen years, said Frontier will be offering an honors Spanish 5 course, which she hopes will open the door to more students attaining the Seal of Biliteracy.

“Until this date, we have had only heritage speakers earn the Seal of Biliteracy, and with another semester of Spanish, I think it would be possible to have non-heritage and non-native speakers earn the seal,” Sharron said, “which I think would be a wonderful accomplishment.”

For more information about the Seal of Biliteracy, visit doe.mass.edu/scholarships/biliteracy.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.