The Secondary English Language Arts department will prepare all students for college, career, and life by developing their ability to o independently read and analyze texts o think critically about complex ideas o articulate ideas with logic and clarity o communicate messages effectively in writing

The Secondary English Language Arts department is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence, equity, and achievement for every student. We will ensure the implementation of a balanced and cohesive curriculum focused on building a culture of readers and writers. Our English Language Arts curriculum is aligned with the TEKS, the College Readiness Standards, ELPS and researched-based literacy practices.

• Teachers matter most to student learning.

• Whoever is doing the reading, writing, and talking is doing the thinking.

• Learning is a consequence of thinking.

• To grow as readers, students need to read deeply, have choice in what they read, and actually, just read more.

• More minutes reading is the best indicator of achievement.

• Effective feedback occurs during the learning, while there is still time to act on it.

• Talk is the representation of thinking.

• Classrooms should be filled with talk, given that we want them filled with thinking.

• We are smarter together