A six-year immersion into languages of the world will culminate in the Seal of Biliteracy for 23 Wantagh High School seniors. That prestigious designation, which has been awarded in the district since 2018, will be affixed to their diplomas in June. 

Students receive the Seal of Biliteracy by demonstrating proficiency in English and at least one other world language. Wantagh offers French, Italian and Spanish at the secondary level, but students can also earn the distinction in a different target language, such as one spoken by family. 

Director of Humanities Julie Rosslee said that the process is very rigorous, as students have to complete projects in both English and a world language. For the world language research project, they do a cultural comparison between the United States and a country where that language is spoken. 

Ms. Rosslee said that this year’s research topics were “varied and deep.” She commended students for their effort as this work is done independently and in addition to their college-level or Advanced Placement world language course work. 

“To take on this additional challenge and see it through, that’s the mark of an outstanding student,” Ms. Rosslee said. “It's great to see that they’re so comfortable in the target language that they can do it any topic that they want.”

Maeve McGlade, who is earning the Seal of Biliteracy in Spanish, studied cultural differences of twins in the United States and Spain. As a twin herself, the topic greatly interested her. Overall, she has enjoyed learning a different language for the past six years and studying the culture of many Spanish-speaking countries. 

French enthusiast Ashley Fox explored the causes of deforestation in the United States and France. She is excited to be receiving the Seal of Biliteracy.

“It is a great way to showcase everything I’ve learned,” she said, “and shows that I not just learned the language but can apply it to a real-world issue.”

Francesco Pellicoro began learning Italian at a young age, as his annual family trips to Italy gave him a head start. Having the Seal of Biliteracy affirms the hard work he has put into learning another language so he can speak it fluently out in the world. For his research project, he studied the differences in coffee culture between the United States and Italy.

This year’s Seal of Biliteracy recipients are: 

French: Evelyn Caputo, Ashley Fox, Shareef McMillan and Shannon Quinn.

Italian: Sabrina Albano, Stephen Albano, Michael Avitable, Michael Colaianni, Damien Crowley and Francesco Pellicoro.

Portuguese: Brianna Henriques.

Spanish: Melanie Alvarado, Emma Colaco, Haley Fahey, Alexandra Gaal, Isabella Kugal, Samantha Magri, Skylar Mondelli, Maeve McGlade, Peyton Naus, Ava Padula, Isabella Sclafani and Evelyn Susco.

All of the students will have their names added to the Seal of Biliteracy plaque, which hangs on the second floor near the world language classrooms.