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Honoring Biliteracy at the High School

 Honoring Biliteracy at Islip High School thumbnail173174

The high school recently recognized seven students for earning the New York State Seal of Biliteracy, which honors 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 students celebrated for this exceptional achievement were Laura Infante, Mishell Llamoca Perfecto, Kelly Lozado, Gabriela Ospina Candamil, Rosmery Perez Sandi and Darienne Rogers in Spanish, and Noelle Richard in Italian.

“During this pandemic, everyone’s lives have been drastically altered and tested,” said Priscilla Zarate, the district’s ENL and world language coordinator. “Despite the circumstances, our Seal of Biliteracy students did not allow this to be an obstacle. Instead, they immediately transitioned to a remote structure where they successfully completed the program requirements and project development with the support of their advisers, Karen Maisano, Giuseppa Prainito and Megan Schierhorst, whose commitment, persistence, support and guidance to our students during this unique process helped them obtain this prestigious accomplishment.”

“Our Seal of Biliteracy recipients met not only the rigorous requirements of the Spanish or Italian seal but the equally rigorous requirements of the English seal as well,” said Barbara Wagner, Islip’s coordinator of English language arts. “Whether it was scoring stellar grades on several high-stakes exams or producing consistent, high-quality work in their English courses, the seven students did so with flying colors.”