Overview
The English Language Arts Department encourages students to explore the critical role language and literature play in the shaping of culture and the human experience. Department courses emphasize literature through reading, discussion, and written assignments.
All courses are designed to emphasize the following standards:
- Reading - Students will read to comprehend a variety of texts using appropriate strategies.
- Literature - Students will read, understand, interpret, and appreciate a variety of contemporary and classic works of literature and non-print texts that represent diverse cultures, eras, and perspectives.
- Writing - Students will write to communicate for a variety of purposes and audiences.
- Research - Students will research to acquire, organize, analyze, evaluate, and communicate information.
- Listening and Speaking - Students will listen actively and speak effectively in a variety of situations.
Statement on Equity
We believe everyone has the right to learn in a beloved community. A beloved community is able to uplift and appreciate everyone’s identity and complexity, it creates opportunities so everyone can receive what they need and challenges inequities.
We believe equity exists when we create a beloved community in which all students feel both welcome and valued. We believe equity exists when all students believe in their own ability to succeed. We believe equity exists when students see challenge as opportunity for growth, see struggle as necessary for learning, and see resources and support as crucial steps on the pathway to success. We believe equity means every student has a right to participate and be successful in a rigorous academic setting where they can learn from one another. We believe that it is our moral obligation to disrupt the system that has allowed for persistent opportunity gaps.
We believe that equity is gained through recognizing and affirming the strengths of students’ religions, races, genders, abilities, ethnicities, and economic backgrounds in our community.
We believe that equity exists when all students have teachers who are highly trained utilizing best practices, who believe that all students can achieve at high levels, and who are creating curriculum that demands taking on multiple perspectives and interrogating single stories.