The overall mission of the English Department is to promote literacy--specifically the ability to read, write, and think critically. This mission includes the fostering of such technological literacy as information retrieval, research, and communication. Literate individuals can gather, analyze, and communicate information effectively as well as think creatively and draw independent conclusions--skills that are the cornerstone of a healthy democracy and key to the future of an urban area in an increasingly information-based economy. The Department fosters these goals through scholarship and instruction in all areas of literatures written in English and in the production and reception of a variety of texts, including academic, professional, and creative
Professional development for teachers can help teachers to plan their time better and stay organized. This makes teachers more efficient and gives them extra time to focus not on paperwork but students. Students expect teachers to be specialists in the subject matter for the topics they teach.
Teaching children who can't read in the beginning of the year and seeing them progress to sounding out words and eventually being able to read independently has been a great source of satisfaction