“No skill is more crucial to the future of a child, or to a democratic and prosperous society, than literacy."
~ Los Angeles Times, “A Child Literacy Initiative”

Through study of the language arts, Alachua County students learn to read, write and think effectively with the goal of becoming positive contributors to society as a whole. Effective language arts educators provide varied and rich learning experiences, enabling the district’s students to consistently perform at the highest level.

The current Alachua County secondary language arts curriculum is based upon Florida's B.E.S.T. standards. Within these standards, reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, language and literature competencies are integrated throughout students’ learning experiences. B.E.S.T. ELA benchmarks are repeated as needed in course sequences. As students progress from one course to the next, increases should occur in the complexity of materials and tasks, as well as in the application of skills and strategies. Additionally, 

• learning tasks and materials are differentiated based upon individual student needs
• students are taught reading strategies to assist them in constructing meaning from a variety of texts;
• and students acquire an extensive vocabulary through reading, discussion, listening, and word study.