English Language Arts & Literacy
Vision Statement
The Massachusetts 2017 Frameworks for English Language Arts articulate a vision for literacy that supports students in becoming independent, self-directed learners with strong comprehension, content knowledge, and critical thinking skills.
Aligned with these standards, Newton Public Schools is committed to comprehensive, integrated literacy instruction that enables students to develop the listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills necessary for personal growth, responsible citizenship, and academic success across all disciplines. In NPS literacy classrooms, students learn to cite specific, relevant evidence to support their claims, strategically and capably use technology and digital media, understand diverse perspectives and cultures, and communicate effectively with people of varied backgrounds.
We value antiracist, evidence-informed, and universally designed approaches in all aspects of our work. These values are grounded in a commitment to culturally responsive instruction, a respect for human difference, a belief that every student can succeed, and a desire to foster a love of literacy. We strive to build authentic learning partnerships with our students, their families, and our colleagues; to honor and incorporate the knowledge and experience of each child into learning experiences; to create inclusive and responsive literacy communities where all students are valued members; to support individual students’ academic, social, and emotional needs as well as their personal interests; to inform our instruction through purposeful assessments; and to engage students in using language to make meaning.
We aim to empower students to be critical readers and thinkers in every aspect of their lives and to equip them with tools to identify and challenge all forms of bias and inequity. Students participate in rigorous interdisciplinary learning experiences that promote deep conceptual understandings, foster respect for a variety of viewpoints, create opportunities for empathetic interactions, and build a foundation of inquiry from which new ideas and solutions can emerge.