June 11, 2025

CARSON CITY, Nev. – Two students at Spanish Springs High School in Sparks are the first to earn the Nevada State Seal of Biliteracy in the Great Basin Northern Paiute language.

Washoe County School District seniors Cecelia Gossett and Jayla Ramirez earned the seal for demonstrating a high level of language proficiency.
This school year, Northern Paiute – one of Nevada’s Native languages – was added to the list of languages recognized through the State Seal of Biliteracy.

“I would like to congratulate Cecelia and Jayla for leading the way as the first Nevada students to earn the State Seal of Biliteracy in the Northern Paiute language,” said Dr. Steve Canavero, Interim Superintendent of Public Instruction. “At the Nevada Department of Education, we are thankful for our partnership with the Washoe County School District and the Great Basin tribal leaders who served as subject matter experts to develop the student assessments.”

The Nevada Department of Education worked in collaboration with the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, and Washoe County School District to award the first Seals of Biliteracy in Northern Paiute.

“This is more than an academic accomplishment,” said Fawn Hunter, Native American Culture and Education Program Manager for the Washoe County School District. “It is a celebration of identity, heritage, and progress.”

The State Seal of Biliteracy was created in 2015 through NRS 388.591. Graduating high school students can earn the distinction if they demonstrate a high level of proficiency in one or more languages in addition to English and meet all other graduation requirements.

Thousands of students have earned the State Seal of Biliteracy in 57 languages.

Four Nevada school districts – Elko, Humboldt, Mineral, and Washoe counties – currently offer Northern Paiute or Western Shoshone language classes in some of their schools.

However, no exams previously existed that could assess student proficiency in any of the Great Basin languages.

Over the last year, the Nevada Department of Education worked with tribal elders and Indian education representatives from seven tribes across northern Nevada to create exam components that can assess language proficiency skills in the Northern Paiute, Western Shoshone, and Washoe languages.

Additional participants functioned as assistants to the tribal elders to create resources, including recordings for the listening and speaking components of the exam.

“The Seal of Biliteracy effort centered on working directly with tribal speakers to honor and uplift the importance and resilience of tribal languages,” said Fredina Drye-Romero, Education Programs Professional for Indian Education at the Nevada Department of Education. “This collaboration supports the preservation of Indigenous languages and aims to improve academic outcomes, increasing the number of Native students earning the Seal.”

Within the assessments created for the State Seal of Biliteracy in Northern Paiute, the language, voices, and legacy of those who assisted in creating the assessment – such as the late Elder Dr. Ralph Burns and Reynelda James, Elder of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe – will live on as a testimony to the importance of preserving and revitalizing the rich heritage of the Paiute people.

About the Nevada Department of Education

The Nevada Department of Education (NDE) leads and collaborates with Nevada’s 17 school districts and the State Public Charter School Authority to advance educational equity Statewide. With offices in Carson City and Las Vegas, NDE oversees all pre-K-12 education in the State, working to achieve its mission to improve student achievement and educator effectiveness by ensuring opportunities, facilitating learning, and promoting excellence. Under the leadership of the State Board of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, NDE impacts the achievement of nearly half a million children and 30,000 educators. Learn more at https://doe.nv.gov/ and join us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram.