Pre-AP English I focuses on reading, writing, and language skills that are relevant to students’ current work and essential for students’ future to future high school and college coursework. Texts take center stage, preparing students to observe small details in a text to arrive at a deeper understanding of the whole. It also trains writers to create complex sentences–building this foundational skill en route to sophisticated, longer-form analyses. The Pre-AP English areas of focus are vertically aligned to the practices embedded in high school and college English courses, including AP. This gives students multiple opportunities to prioritize and strengthen key literacy skills throughout their course of study. In this course, students will read closely and analyze a range of complex literary and informational texts. Students will evaluate textual evidence and incorporate it effectively in writing and speaking. Students will understand how writers and speakers use specific words and sentences to move the thoughts, emotions, and actions of readers and listeners. The following big ideas will be incorporated across all units: engaging with texts, constructing texts, focusing on language, investigating through research, and entering the conversation.
Instructor: Dickie Written
Pre-AP English 2 is a rigorous, skills-focused course designed to build and reinforce students' critical reading, writing, and analytical thinking abilities through close reading of complex texts across genres. Emphasizing evidence-based writing, vocabulary development, and literary analysis, the course engages students with both literary and nonfiction works while exploring themes, the author’s craft, and rhetorical strategies. Beyond academic rigor, Pre-AP English 2 challenges students to participate in meaningful, in-the-moment discussions, collaborate with peers, and develop original insights through real-time classroom dialogue that AI cannot replicate. Through active listening, thoughtful questioning, and teacher feedback, students refine their ideas, defend interpretations, and engage with diverse perspectives, fostering authentic voice, independent thought, and a deeper understanding of language and communication within a dynamic learning community.
Instructor: Natasha Patrick
AP English Language and Composition is a college-level course that focuses on the development of rhetorical reading and writing skills through the study of nonfiction texts. In the first semester, students will begin by analyzing how writers use rhetorical strategies to achieve purpose and appeal to their audience, culminating in the rhetorical analysis essay. The second quarter emphasizes the argumentative essay, where students learn to craft clear claims, support them with evidence and reasoning, and address counterarguments effectively. In the second semester, students will build on these skills by writing synthesis essays that integrate multiple sources into a cohesive, well-reasoned argument. The final quarter is dedicated to AP exam review, with a focus on timed writing, multiple-choice practice, and refining skills for success on the exam and beyond. Throughout the year, students will engage with a range of texts and writing tasks that strengthen their critical thinking, analytical reading, and persuasive writing abilities.
Instructor: Jacob Hernandez
English III introduces students to rhetorical and literary structure and style, fostering critical thinking and clear expression through the study of nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and craft texts, with a focus on American literature. Students will engage in thoughtful discussion, develop textually supported analyses, and apply both research methods and the creative process to deepen their understanding of texts and the world around them. Through collaborative learning, they will support one another as a diverse community of scholars and professionals. By studying the craft of established authors and practicing the writing process themselves, students will experiment with language, style, and structure, making purposeful choices to strengthen their own literary and rhetorical voice.
Instructor: Abena Ntoso
In AP English Literature, students will engage with literature both as scholars and as authors, reading and analyzing world literature from various time periods while continuously writing about their questions, interpretations, and insights. Through the study of short fiction, poetry, novels, and plays, students will develop the ability to craft textually substantiated analyses of entire works and their components. At the same time, students will explore their own creative voices by writing original literature—including short stories, poems, and a novel chapter or dramatic scene—while experimenting with character, setting, plot, structure, and narrative voice. By studying the choices authors make in language, imagery, and literary devices, students will refine their own craft and deepen their understanding of how literature invites readers to ask complex questions and discover new ways of seeing the world
Instrutor: Abena Ntoso
This year-long course explores literature through the lens of justice and morality. In the first semester, students study Dante’s Divine Comedy to examine human values, sin, and redemption. The second semester shifts to earthly struggles, focusing on justice as it relates to consolation and desolation through the works of Flannery O’Connor, Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and selected poetry. Students will engage in close reading, discussion, and analytical writing as they explore how literature reflects and challenges our understanding of the human experience.
Instructor: Jacob Hernandez