With a curriculum grounded in canonical as well as contemporary texts, students are exposed to a variety of viewpoints and experiences. Our focus on writing as a craft teaches students to write with precision while cultivating the power of their own unique voices.
During their freshman and sophomore years, our students develop foundational reading and writing skills that can be applied to all of their academic classes. The freshman Big Voices class works in conjunction with the Big History class and culminates with an extensive cross-curricular research project at the end of the year. The sophomore English 2 course takes students into a deep-dive of the writing and revision process to instill confidence and self-awareness as writers.
Honors distinction can be earned at the freshman and sophomore level, and we offer two A.P. classes to upper division students. A.P. Language and Composition focuses on analysis and argumentation, while A.P. Literature is grounded in literary analysis and an exploration of the human condition. Both of these classes provide a college-level English experience to prepare our students for the rigor of college coursework.
Seniors have the option of choosing from our broad range of semester-long classes. One of the highlights is a Dystopian Literature course taught by department member Jenny Lambert, whose own dystopian novel, The Memory Visit, was published in 2018. Another offering, Podcasting and Storytelling, gives students the opportunity to write and produce their own podcasts, which are then made accessible to the Carondelet community.
