The Reed-Custer High School English Department has made great strides over the course of the year regarding not only their new and improved Common Core curriculum, but also both ACT and PARCC testing preparation.   With the state’s recent switch in curriculum demands, it has been necessary for each content area to take a look at what needs to be altered to most effectively meet the needs of our students. The English Department began this journey a little over four years ago, and we are incredibly proud of the progress we have made.  Within the new Common Core Standards, an educational shift is taking place.  Literacy is becoming a major focus in all content areas.  The RCHS English Department has taken an initiative to support this shift.  Currently, during Positive Learning Community (PLC) Meetings, the English Department is meeting with other content areas to assist them in taking their current Common Core Curricula and shifting their instructional approaches to reading and literacy.  With these changes in each content area, students will be exposed to a wider variety of texts that will assist them in being successful on new standardized tests including the PARCC assessment coming up early spring. 

In addition to assisting other content areas in accommodating new literacy demands, the RCHS English Department is in the later stages of curriculum development.  This has allowed all English teachers to gather valuable data from Pre and Post tests in order to discuss strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum as a department on a weekly basis.  As a result, the department is able to reconstruct weak areas of the curriculum and reassess these weaknesses before official testing takes place.  These opportunities allow all students to gain valuable feedback on their progress in English, as well. 

For more information about RCHS English and to view the current English curriculum for grades 9-12, please visit the following links:

For 9-10: http://www.rc255.net/DocCenter/RCHS/9-10Grades_ELA-ParentCommunication.pdf

For 11-12: http://www.rc255.net/DocCenter/RCHS/11-12Grades_ELA-ParentCommunication.pdf