The purpose of the Reicher English Department program is to aid students in the development of close reading skills

as well as critical thinking in writing and speaking. Familiarity with many of the classics of literature as well as

contremporary master writers prepares students to write with clarity, complexity of style, and a wide-ranging vocabulary.

Grammar instruction has as its purpose the writing of prose with a variety of sentence structures, including appropriate

use of subordination and coordination.

English classes include English I, English II, English III, and English IV.

Pre AP English I and II provide the able, motivated student the opportunity to learn the foundational skills for the

AP English Classes in 11th and 12th grade.

AP English Language and Composition provides a college level class for 11th graders comparable to the first year of

rhetoric and composition; English Literature and Composition provides a college level literature course.

Both AP English courses may lead to college credit from the College Board.

The Pre AP and AP English classes require summer reading, timed essays, essay examinations, literary research papers,

a full-length practice test, and the actual College Board exams in May.

English students participate in the TAPPS Academic meets at both the district and state level. Reicher students have

placed at both levels in Literary Criticism, Ready Writing, Spelling, and both Poetry and Prose Interpretation.

NCTE Honors Julia DeLaRosa with 2010 Achievement Award in Writing

Julia, a student in the AP English program at Reicher Catholic High School,  is the daughter of Elizabeth and Mitch DeLaRosa.

The National Council of Teachers of English honors 543 high school seniors as outstanding writers in the 2010 NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing.  The recipients were chosen from 1,641 students nominated in their junior year by their teachers from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Canada, and American schools abroad.

The Achievement Awards in Writing program was established in 1957 to encourage high school students in their writing and to recognize publicly some of the best student writers in the nation.  Assessments of student writing are based on students’ samples of their own best prose or verse and on impromptu themes that are written under supervision.  A team of English teachers judge the writing, looking especially for writing that demonstrates effective and imaginative use of language to inform and move an audience. 

Miss DeLaRosa and her school, Reicher Catholic High School, received certificates recognizing their accomplishment.  Students also receive cards highlighting their achievement to attach to their college application forms.