The English department is officially ending all half year senior English courses beginning next school year. Instead, the classes will revert back to the usual full-year English IV CPA and English IV Honors model that is offered at all other grade levels.
Previously, the English department offered eight half-year courses that fulfill the English graduation requirement for seniors, though not all classes ran if there is not enough student interest. These courses, according to the 2023-2024 Program of Studies, include Literature and Psychology; Memoirs of the Game; True Crime; and Satire and Comedy in Literature. Some classes were offered at an Honors level, while others were CPA level.
Going forward, only the True Crime half-year class will remain at West Essex, but will not fulfill an English credit. It will be available to juniors and seniors at the Honors level as a half-year elective. Based on this success, they may add more of the half-year courses as electives in the future.
English department Supervisor Stacy Casais said the senior changes were implemented to better encompass changing standards for English instruction and to minimize scheduling conflicts that can come with half-year courses. In tandem with some other curriculum changes, she said, supervisors want to make the West Essex curriculum equitable and uniform for all students.
“My goal is always to meet the standards and do right by the students,” she said. “In the perfect world, I would love it for all these options to run. But, realistically, we will be better able to serve more kids changing back to a full year course.”
Moving forward, the only classes that will fulfill the senior English graduation requirement are English IV CPA, English IV Honors and AP Literature and Composition. The curriculum for the Honors and CPA level classes will be rewritten, Casais said, intending to use some of the existing units from the half-year courses and incorporate more choice.
Students will be made officially aware of these changes upon selecting their courses for next year in the upcoming weeks per the new 2024-2025 Program of Studies.
