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English

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Explore the human experience. 

In the Branson English classroom, we investigate, explore, question, analyze, and fall in love with our literary texts every day. From Homer to Shakespeare, Mary Shelley to Frederick Douglass, Jhumpa Lahiri to Zadie Smith, students immerse themselves in vibrant, diverse worlds. We aim to offer all students of all identities the pleasure and value of seeing themselves reflected in the texts they read, and to learn, with empathy and compassion, about cultures and experiences rarely explored.

In our innovative classes, you will learn through student-driven and student-lead conversations, multimedia presentations, collaborative projects, design thinking, connections to visual media, and more. You will constantly have opportunities to explore the connections between the work of the classroom and prescient issues in the world, the society, that emanates beyond the academic space.

Most importantly, you will explore the essential nature of writing, digging deeper than “thesis, evidence, analysis.” You’ll engage in a conversation between yourself, the text, and your audience. You’ll explore how writing engenders epiphany through both the strength of language and the clarity of vision.

English Requirements

12 units (4 years) 

All students take English I in the ninth grade and English II in the tenth grade. In the eleventh and twelfth grade, students choose from semester electives and must take an English class each semester.

Meet Our English Faculty

Alanna  Hickey

Alanna Hickey

English Teacher
Neha Kamdar

Neha Kamdar

English Teacher
Madeline Lesser

Madeline Lesser

English Teacher
Erin Mansur

Erin Mansur

English Teacher
Evan Schnair

Evan Schnair

English Teacher
Giles Scott

Giles Scott

English Teacher, English Department Chair
Jeff Symonds

Jeff Symonds

Director of Studies, English Teacher
Sabrina Wilson

Sabrina Wilson

Spanish Teacher; Human Development Teacher

Branson Curriculum Guide

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Read the Curriculum Guide to see all the courses we offer in the 2022-23 academic year.

Yearlong Courses

  • English I
  • English II

Fall Semester Courses

  • American Transcendentalism
  • Courage. Spoken. Here.
  • Disruptive Mirrors and Dissenting Voices in Latin America
  • Poetics of Place: The Literature of California
  • Soul on Ice: Incarcerated Worlds
  • Shattered Worlds: Dystopian Literature
  • The Monsters We Make
  • Voices from the Margins: A Journey Through Immigrant Narratives

Spring Semester Courses

  • From Story to Screenplay: Adaptation and the Craft of Dramatic Writing
  • Literature of the Lonely
  • Plotting Marriage, Making Plans
  • Sports and Literature
  • State of Mind
  • The Feminine Gaze: Feminine Literature and Feminist Literary Theory
  • Unnatural Boundaries
  • War and Witness

For a complete list of English courses and their descriptions, read the 2022-23 Curriculum Guide