The English department's ultimate goals are to foster the students' love of language and literature and to develop their ability to think and communicate effectively.

The program emphasizes the basic communication skills: reading, writing, speaking, listening, and observing. The objectives are to develop each student's ability to read with comprehension, discrimination, sensitivity and pleasure; to express her ideas with clarity, coherence, and fluency in writing and speaking; and to understand the structure and power of the English language.

These skills are continually taught and reinforced at all grade levels with the degree of development becoming more complex with each consecutive course. Literary and media works selected for excellence in content, style, and cultural diversity broaden the students' experiences vicariously and expand their insights about human nature. Teachers design their courses to fulfill departmental objectives and to meet students' individual needs.