Mission Statement
The Office of English and Reading seeks to improve student achievement by developing curriculum which is aligned with the Maryland Content Standards, providing professional development for the systematic implementation of the Essential Curriculum, and selecting instructional materials that are appropriate and engaging in order to attain the following program goals:

• To help students appreciate that language is the basis of all culture, the primary means of communication with others, and the tool with which most of us work.
• To train students in those language competencies which promote success in school and which enable the student to participate in an open society.
• To develop motivation for greater proficiency in the use of language by training students to use language correctly.
• To teach students to listen attentively and to evaluate what they hear.
• To develop competence in those reading skills necessary for the performance of school tasks and for the use of reading as an instrument of personal achievement, enlightenment, and enjoyment throughout life.
• To help students develop critical attitudes and standards in evaluating and choosing among books, periodicals, radio and television programs, stage and motion picture productions.
• To develop students' ability to control basic forms of oral and written composition in generating ideas, organizing and developing thoughts in sentences and paragraphs, making appropriate choices in diction and syntax, and adhering to conventions determined by the purpose, audience, and situation.
• To provide students with opportunities for creative expression on the level of their capacities and interests.
• To teach students, through experiences with good literature, the language techniques and literary forms used by accomplished writers and the significant themes that reflect the human condition.

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