HS Supervisors Outline English Department

This year the Freehold Regional High School District is requiring the academic supervisors of each subject to present an overview of their department to the Board of Education. On Monday, Nov. 28 the English Supervisors from the six high schools within the district explained the ins and outs of the English department to the Board at their meeting at Howell High School.

English Supervisors

• Colts Neck High School: Tyniesha Douglas
• Freehold High School: Judith Lagana
• Freehold Township High School: Stephanie Mechmann
• Howell High School: Craig Chern
• Manalapan High School: Melissa Venuto
• Marlboro High School: Jane Goldstein

The New Jersey High School Graduation Requirement calls for four years of English to be taken in high school. The Freehold Regional High School District breaks up the classes in this way:

• English I: Introduction to Literature
• English II: American Literature
• English III: British Literature
• English IV: Modern and Classic Literature

The district also offers a couple of Advanced Placement (AP) offerings for students to take in their junior and senior years.

As eleventh graders, advanced students may take the AP Language and Composition class which focuses on rhetoric and non-fiction. In twelfth grade, students can take the AP Literature and Composition class which focuses on writing and fiction. Both classes also concentrate on AP test taking strategies to guarantee that students are familiar with the composition of the AP test they will take in the spring. 

Elective classes are also availble for students to choose to take over the course of their high school career, they are offerred in addition to the state requirements.

Elective Courses:

• Creative Writing
• Advanced Creative Writing
• Drama
• Advanced Drama
• Journalism
• Academic Support Instruction

The required English courses cover reading and writing skills, too.

Reading Skills:

• Close and critical reading
• Sustained silent reading
• Open-ended responses
• Text annotation
• Integrated vocabulary 

Writing Skills:

• Writing Process (pre-writing, drafting, editing, revising, publishing)
• Grammar and mechanics
• Research-based writing
• Variety of writing opportunities

The fundamental goal of the Common Core State Standards "is to provide a culture of high expectations for all students", the state says. New Jersey is one of 45 states across the country to have adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) which are research and evidence based, aligned with college and workplace expecations, increases rigor, and are internationally benchmarked, according to department supervisors.

The district English Department has aligned their curriculum to the CCSS by concentrating on non-fiction, gradually increasing text complexity, ongoing curriculum and assessment revision, and vertical articulation on targeted standards.

In the classroom the teachers are focusing more on student centered instruction and have steered away from "chalk and talk", when a teacher lectures the entire class period.The teachers also concentrate on project-based learning, socratic seminars, literature circles, peer editing anad revising, cooperative learning, and teacher and student technology integration.