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English

students reading at a table
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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

Elizabeth Bejarano

English Teacher, English Teacher
Alanna  Hickey

Alanna Hickey

English Teacher
Katie Jan

Katie Jan

English Teacher
Neha Kamdar

Neha Kamdar

English Teacher
Madeline Lesser

Madeline Lesser

English Teacher
Evan Schnair

Evan Schnair

English Teacher
Giles Scott

Giles Scott

English Department Chair and English Teacher
Jeff Symonds

Jeff Symonds

Assistant Head of School for Academics and Dean of Faculty, English Teacher

Branson Curriculum Guide

students in class

Read the Curriculum Guide to see all the courses we offer in the 2023-24 academic year.

Yearlong Courses

  • English I
  • English II

Semester Courses

  • The Art of Literary Translation
  • The Beat Generation
  • Building Nations, Telling Stories
  • Children's Literature
  • Courage. Spoken. Here.
  • Critical Theory
  • From Story to Screenplay: Adaptation and the Craft of Dramatic Storytelling
  • Hamlet and Hamnet
  • The Monsters We Make
  • Myth, Folklore, and Adaptation
  • The Poetics of Place: The Literature of California
  • State of Mind

Humanities/Cross-Referenced Courses

  • Advanced Journalism 
  • The End of the Innocence: American Society 1955-2001
  • History and Culture of Hip-Hop

For a complete list of English courses and their descriptions, read the Curriculum Guide 2024-25 | Guía de Estudios 2024-25