Jericho High School senior Qi Yu was recently selected as a winner in the 2006 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Achievement Awards in Writing. She was recognized along with 606 students from around the country for outstanding performance in writing. A total of 2,080 juniors were nominated by their schools to participate in the 2006 program.

The purpose of this awards program is to recognize the best student writers in the nation. Two judges, one high school and one college English teacher, read each composition. Judges looked for writing that "demonstrates effective and imaginative language use to inform and move an audience." English teacher Diane Antonucci, along with members of the Jericho High School English Department, nominated Qi to participate in the contest.