East Islip High School proudly announced that 21 students earned the Seal of Biliteracy this year, the highest number since the program’s inception. These students successfully completed all academic requirements and represented three of East Islip’s world language offerings: Italian, Spanish, and American Sign Language.

East Islip’s 2025 Seal of Biliteracy recipients are Cassie Dodenhoff, Emily Farrell, Anna Franchi, Lilyana Graney, Samantha Olsen, Samantha Penny and Annalise Piano for ASL; Sally Attard, Daniel Carroll, Erin McCarthy and Gabriela Zimmitti for Italian; and Nathalie Atiencia, Julianna D’Addario, LisFranny Garcia Laguer, Jowell Lopez, Sarai Murria, Sophia Pepe, Biance Plasencia Espinal, Angela Reyes, Valerie Tamayo and Johan Toledo Mazamba for Spanish.

The New York State Seal of Biliteracy is a prestigious distinction awarded to high school graduates who demonstrate a high level of proficiency in English and at least one other language, including ASL. This recognition, which appears as a seal on the diploma and a notation on the transcript, signals to colleges and employers that the student possesses valuable biliterate skills in an increasingly global society.

“Earning the Seal is no small feat,” Director of World Languages and ENL Christian  Seifert said. “Among the most challenging components, students must present and speak in their second language before a panel of adults, an experience that requires not only language proficiency, but confidence and composure. Each of these 21 students met that challenge with courage and proficiency, and I am immensely proud of their accomplishment. I am especially honored to share that, for the first time, both a current English as a New Language student and a former ENL student have earned this recognition. Their achievement marks a meaningful milestone for our program and affirms the importance of supporting multilingualism and the power of student perseverance in our schools.”