Fourteen high school students have earned New York State Seal of Biliteracy honors for the 2022-23 school year.

Seniors will receive the seal on their forthcoming diplomas and a medal signifying their accomplishments. Juniors will receive the same diploma distinction and medal next year when they graduate and will be able to use this earned distinction on their forthcoming college applications.

Recipients are:

• Mandarin Chinese
  Hei (Jimmy) Choi
• Spanish
  Aku (Sarah) Addo
  Anastasia Godlewski
  Sophia Gonzalez
  Austin Gurda
  Hana Hassan
  Andrew Jones
  Caleb Linares
  Jason Marte
  Alex Norwood
  Ronnie Pennington
  Matthew Rickard
  Madison Ringus
  CaseyTrinidad Ramirez

“The ability to communicate in more than one language can make a huge difference in a student’s career success,” said Assistant Principal Dr. Michael Burns, who oversaw the Seal awarding process. “The students who earned this distinction worked very hard for this achievement and we know this will help them as they continue their education and enter the workforce. This was a very rigorous process that required a lot of time and attention. They are very worthy recipients.”

The New York State Seal of Biliteracy (NYSSB) recognizes high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in one or more languages, in addition to English.

The program’s intentions are to encourage the study of languages, to identify high school graduates with language and biliteracy skills for employers, to provide universities with additional information about applicants seeking admission and placement, to prepare students with 21st Century skills, to recognize the value of world, classical and home language instruction in schools and to affirm the value of diversity in a multilingual society.