A former teacher of Julia Roberts who keeps a steely eye out for dress code violators, a coach and a former athlete who believe that sonnets are as important as sports, a puppeteer, a panda fanatic, a prissy academician or two, and a whole bevy of avowed individualists make up the Rider English Department.
We are an eclectic mix, but we stand united in our commitment to the ideal that all students should read with understanding and express themselves with clarity.As experienced educators, we offer to your child our knowledge of and passion for our subject.Realizing that reading and communications skills are among the most important markers for success in today's world, we welcome the opportunity to work with your child as he or she prepares for life beyond Rider High School.
“Your choice, Our standards.
Our standards, Your success”
Our departmental motto is at work every day in our classrooms.Our teachers are experienced and innovative, knowledgeable and capable, patient and nurturing.But demanding.We expect students to meet our standards.And if students accept the challenge of English classes at Rider, they will leave with the reading, writing, and thinking skills so vital in today’s world.
PAP/AP
Summer Reading -- 2010
Summer reading
enhances each student's experience in Pre-AP and AP English.Therefore, each PAP and AP English student at
Rider is required to participate in the Summer Reading Program, even those who
are new to the school.All summer
reading and other assignments must be completed before school starts
next year.
Read carefully and analytically.Reflect on the
work as you read.Don't just read for
plot; read for ideas.You are strongly
encouraged to purchase your own book and mark
and annotate it as you
read.The reading list contains some of
the books that have appeared most frequently on AP English tests as well as
some of the most recommended books by College Board.A thorough knowledge of these books will
improve your chances of success in AP English.Activities at the beginning of school will assess your understanding of
the works.
The following
are the books to be read by students moving into each grade level:
Required for everyoneChoose one from the list
Grade 9:To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper LeeNone
Grade 10:Great Expectations – Charles DickensBless Me, Ultima - Rudolfo Anaya
Go
Tell It on the Mountain - James Baldwin
My Antonia – Willa Cather
Obasan
– Joy Kogawa
Grade 11:Ethan Frome –
Edith WhartonThe
Awakening – Kate Chopin
The Color Purple- Alice Walker
Beloved
- Toni Morrison
Their Eyes Were Watching
God
– Zora Neale Hurston
The
Joy Luck Club – Amy Tan
Grade 12:Pride and Prejudice – Jane AustenCatch 22 – Joseph Heller
Cry,
the Beloved Country – Alan Paton
The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
Light in August- William Faulkner
We in the Rider English Department are extremely proud of our students’ accomplishments!Some of our recent successes are listed below:
Advanced Placement (AP) English
AP English Language test - 73 qualifying scores - one of the best qualifying rates in all Texas high schools.
AP English Literature test - 81 qualifying scores- one of the best qualifying rates in all Texas high schools.
Rider had 154 qualifying scores in 2008 compared to only 43 combined at the other two city high schools.
Over 78% of all the disrict's qualifying AP English scores came from Rider.
Rider has 57 AP Scholars, 10 AP Scholars with Honor, 13 AP Scholars with Distinction, and 1 AP National Scholar.
Standardized Test Results
SAT Reading
SAT Writing
ACT Reading
Rider
513
511
21.2
Other WFISD high schools
472
468
19.1
State
488
482
19.8
Nation
502
494
21.4
TAKS Results:
Rider’s English passing rates are the best among the city’s high schools:
11th grade – 94%
10th grade – 99%
9th grade – 99%
Writing Awards:
National Council of Teachers of English – National Award Winner – two years
Scholastic Writing Awards – 5 National Awards and 2 Regional Awards
Poetry Society of Texas – 66 of 85 statewide award winners were from Rider
National Merit Scholars:
5 National Merit Semifinalists (out of 6 in the WFISD)
7National Merit Commended students (out of 9 in the WFISD)
Please contact English teachers by email whenever possible.Students' grades may be accessed at any time through the district's online grade book program.
For more information about the English Department, contact
