English Department

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Department Highlights

  • The primary mission of the department is to create lifelong readers and writers as they recognize the power of literacy in their lives.

  • CJ students consistently place in local, state and individual writing competitions:

    • Montgomery County Poetry Contest

    • Sinclair Creative Writing Contest

    • Holocaust Writing Contest

    • Scholastic Writing Awards

    • Robert J. Fox State Award

  • CJ conducts a school-wide writing contest and sponsors area-wide contests for 5-6th graders, and 7-8th graders.

  • 74% of CJ’s AP English students scored above the national average on the 2012 exam.

  • National and State recognition for Poetry Out Loud competition:

    • National: Rachel Chandler – Class of 2008

    • State: Lynsay Strahorn – Class of 2011

  • CJ students have received the distinct honor of a "Superior" rating from the National Council of Teachers of English.

  • Students write, edit, and publish a creative writing anthology and yearbook.

  • The department operates the CJ Writing Center, open to student and adult writers of all abilities.

  • OGT scores include a 97% passage rate in reading and a 100% in writing.