District News

The language learning skills of graduating seniors at Lancaster High School were celebrated as a record-breaking number of students earned the New York State Seal of Biliteracy.

A group of 31 seniors were recognized with the honor for their studies in Spanish, French, German, Turkish, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese and American Sign Language. The state-level recognition requires students to show strong English proficiency and complete coursework and projects demonstrating their ability to communicate in other languages, including a presentation to a panel of judges. In addition to the record number of students receiving the seal, senior Bruno Ramos De Campos achieved the extremely rare feat of receiving the seal in three languages: Spanish, French, Portuguese.

The New York State Department of Education said that less than five percent of graduating seniors are awarded the seal.

“We are so happy and proud to celebrate each of you today. You have worked so hard to get here,” said Holly O’Connor, a world language teacher and the school’s Seal of Biliteracy coordinator. “We are inspired by how much you’ve embraced the power of languages in your lives.”

The June 6 ceremony also included a recognition for nine students that also were a part of the school’s World Language Connection Program. Students in the program added to the language studies by adding a second world language, and completed classes in areas like world tourism and cultural awareness.

“You have demonstrated so much talent, a love for languages, travel, and cultures from the experiences you’ve had that you are certain to make a huge impact in your future college and career fields,” O’Connor said.

Andrew Krazmien, Director of Secondary Education, praised O’Connor and fellow biliteracy advisors April Delsignore, Tracy Efthemis, Caroline Aungst, Lisa Grahnert-Mullen and Emily Heinl for their work to promote the students’ language education.

“This is such a great opportunity for our students and it’s made possible by the dedicated individuals from across the district to provide guidance for our students working towards this designation,” Krazmien said. “Mrs. O’Connor has done a fantastic job in leading the team to make this program such a success for our students. She is a rockstar whom I’m very thankful to have on our team.”

For more information about the New York State Seal of Biliteracy, visit https://www.nysed.gov/world-languages/new-york-state-seal-biliteracy-nyssb.