As the 2025 school year comes to an end, some graduating seniors from the Fresno Unified School District are celebrating their achievements in learning multiple languages.
Hundreds of families gathered at the Save Mart Center on June 8 for the third annual Latinx Graduation Celebración.
The celebration was created in 2023 to highlight the success of Fresno Unified’s Latino students, who make up nearly three quarters of the student body. The ceremony is held primarily in Spanish.
Flags from Latin American countries – including Mexíco, El Salvador, Honduras – were raised, symbolizing the rich diversity of the students in the district. Traditional mariachi performances, folklórico and Aztec dances also took center stage.
While the ceremony honored Latino graduates, it also gave special recognition to students who were graduating with the State Seal of Civic Engagement and the State Seal of Biliteracy.
The Seal of Biliteracy is awarded to students who show a high level of proficiency in English and at least one other language.
In Fresno Unified, most students awarded with the seal are recognized for their learning in Spanish – but the seal can be given for learning in a plethora of languages including French, Hmong, Arabic, Armenian, Hindi, Punjabi, Tagalog and American Sign Language.
This year, seals were given to 700 graduates – with an additional 10 students who received double seals.
“The Seal is a testament to the power of bilingualism as a tool to connect our cultures, break down barriers, and broaden horizons,” Carlos Castillo, Fresno Unified chief of diversity, equity and inclusion, said to the crowd. “Congratulations to all of you graduates for this great achievement. The future is yours.”
One student who walked across the stage with the honor is McLane graduate Delphina Diem De Santiago, who had participated in FUSD’s Spanish dual language immersion program since she was in kindergarten. She received the Seal on her diploma.
“I loved the program,” De Santiago said. “Mostly because of all the connections I made, and because I was able to [learn more] about my culture.”
De Santiago, of Mexican heritage, was also recognized for her completion of the DLI program and participation in dual enrollment.
Learning of her culture and ancestral language brought her closer to her roots, De Santiago said. Most of her family doesn’t speak Spanish, or speaks ‘Spanglish.’
“None of my cousins know Spanish. [Me and my siblings] are the only ones who have learned it,” she said.
Becoming fluent in both languages also helped De Santiago guide newcomer students as a mentor.
“I got to speak to a lot of students who don't speak English and help them learn the language,” she said. “Being bilingual helped me a lot in connecting with them.”
The Seal of Biliteracy gives ‘a responsibility’
The Seal of Biliteracy was established by California legislators in 2012 as a way to encourage students to seek multilingual education – the first recognition of its kind in the nation.
As of 2024, all 50 states have adopted the seal. The last state to implement the recognition was South Dakota.
According to the latest data, nearly 140,000 students across the U.S. received the seal in the 2022-23 school year. In California, 60,000 students received the honor.
The award is marked by a gold seal on the diploma or transcript to students who’ve “attained a high level of proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing one or more languages in addition to English,” according to the state Department of Education. As such, students can receive multiple Seals if they meet proficiency requirements in multiple languages.
To receive the stamp, students must pass their English language arts courses with a 2.0 grade point average and pass World Language Advanced Placement exam 3 or higher, complete a four-year course of study in a language with a 3.0 grade point average, or pass a district language exam that assesses speaking, reading and writing at a proficient level.
But its main goal is to have students be able to converse in a language other than English, said Fresno Unified’s Latinx Student Union Manager Carol Padilla-Shaath.
“We're not asking them to engage in an academic level on global challenges or things of that sort, but basically to carry on a conversation in a way that effective communication is happening,” Padilla-Shaath said.
At Fresno Unified, the seal is also a way to uplift English learners – who continue holding onto their home language while becoming fluent in English at school.
Padilla-Shaath’s hope is that through language learning, students are able to become “a support to their community” – particularly in the culturally and linguistically diverse community in the Central Valley.
“We have a choice of what language we choose to speak – many of our family members and community members do not,” she said.
Edison High School graduate Zerin Sherriff says that sentiment resonated with him. He says growing up in Fresno exposed him to a variety of cultures, particularly from Latin America.
“That’s what really inspired me to learn languages, so I could connect with all these people around me,” he said.
Sherriff sought out to obtain two Seals – for learning Spanish and French. He says the two languages have widened his world view and given him the chance to appreciate all kinds of cultures.
“To me, biliteracy gives you the opportunities to connect with not just people, but media in all forms,” Sherriff said. “I've been able to read books and watch movies and T.V. in Spanish and French. All these are opening my eyes.”
Through learning Spanish, Sherriff was also able to develop a close friendship with a fellow Edison classmate who didn’t speak English.
“That was one of the ways I really grew my Spanish-speaking ability,” he said. “I was able to talk to someone all the time without feeling nervous or embarrassed about speaking, and I was able to get to know him through that as well.”
Sherriff hopes to take his language skills with him to Columbia University next fall, where he’ll study environmental science and engineering.
Though language learning won’t be his primary focus, he hopes to study abroad in Cuba.