On Board Online • November 10, 2025
By Alan Wechsler
Special Correspondent
Ten years ago, New York State launched its Seal of Biliteracy, a program that recognizes high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in English and one or more world languages. The program is meant to encourage the study of languages by identifying students with language skills to employers and universities. Recipients receive a seal on their diploma as well as a medallion to wear at graduation.
At NYSSBA's 2025 Annual Convention and Education Expo in New York City, attendees learned of a local approach that built on the state program: Vestal Central School District's Junior Seal of Biliteracy.
The 3,500-student district joined the state Seal of Biliteracy program in 2018 and created its own award for elementary and middle school students in 2023. Since then, the Junior Seal of Biliteracy has been awarded to 68 students in fifth and eighth grades.
Vestal, a suburb of Binghamton, is a diverse community. School officials say students come from families that speak as many as 30 different languages at home, including those from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean and Asia.
Many students may speak their family's native language at home without learning how to read or write it, said Carrie Martin, who teaches English as a New Language. This program encourages them to learn more, because it requires students to demonstrate proficiency in both speaking and writing a foreign language.
"It's kind of like the United Nations when they come together," she said of her students. "Students feel empowered and valued."
School officials say the program was created with participation from many district staff, and their presentation at the convention reflected that. It included a total of 10 people: administrators, teachers and one student, with more representatives sitting in the audience.
At the fifth-grade level, students can earn points in many ways, although a presentation about the foreign language is required. Eighth-grade standards are more rigorous, requiring high scores in English as well as proving their language proficiency before a panel of judges.
Officials noted that students don't necessarily have to study their family's original language. One student who spoke Bengali decided to present in German. Students have written "books" in their native language, or even given a dance performance.
Among the presenters was 12-year-old Aksil Ait Oumessaoud, whose mother Elizabeth is a French teacher at the high school. Aksil's father is from Algeria, a French-speaking nation, and Aksil was awarded a biliteracy medal when he completed the fifth grade.
To win the medal, he created a video showing him baking a cake. He spoke the names of each ingredient in French, and wrote them as well. When the cake was complete, he turned to the camera and said: "Bon appetit."
"We speak French at the house so it just seemed fun and easy," he recalled at the presentation.
He noted that winning the medallion would look good on his college applications.
"Kids will do anything for a medal," his mother added.