Katie Lasky, the head of the English Department for the past year, assumed her position with great delight and excitement, as Lasky utterly enjoys making a change for the better in her department. Lasky believes that the English Department has much to offer and will continue to strive for new advancements and successes.

In this position, Lasky is faced with a myriad of new challenges, something she braves with great vigor. She supports over thirty English teachers in their efforts to teach their students, ensuring the highest quality education possible. In addition to her cooperative behavior, Lasky has looked at introducing new English electives in order to benefit the longevity of the English department.

In current works, Lasky and the entire English department are excited to introduce new English classes designed for twelfth graders. These electives include Creative Writing, Graphic Novel, Film Studies, ELA in a Digital Society, and Literature of War and Dystopia. The curriculum w starts off with students taking the first two quarters of basic techniques, implementing assistance in college essays and writing strategies. The second two quarters of senior year focus on the elective concentration.

Along with Lasky’s new change put on the curriculum, there has also been a new event added to the Brentwood High School calendar called the Summer Reading Fair. This specific event is utilized to encourage and reward students for doing their summer reading assignment with raffles, prizes, food, and much more. Still, Lasky strives for constant improvement, wanting the best for Brentwood.

Few would be able to handle the transition from English teacher to English Department Head with such grace and finesse. However, her genuine commitment to the position, as well as her experience as an English teacher herself, aided in her success. According to Lasky, the traits she has found most helpful in her position thus far have been her leadership abilities and communication skills. She urges any aspiring to be willing to listen to those around them and to have a plan to reach their goal.

In her free time, Lasky engages in a variety of activities. She finds sports to be a thrilling experience from a spectator point of view, and enjoys making crafts and decorating many art pieces. Lasky also loves to read, go skiing, and take trips to the beach. When it comes to reading, Lasky adores books that relate to Barbara Kingsolver, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and Nineteen Eighty-Four. Lasky thanks her awesome support team for her successes. She attributes her mom as the “ultimate rock” throughout her life because she knows that her mother’s professionalism and strong will power seeped into her own character. She also attributes her triumph to her friends.

When asked what advice she would give to students, Lasky encourages students to become critical thinkers. Every time she steps into a classroom, Lasky’s main goal is to teach students how to think, not what to memorize. She wants students to question what they are reading and hearing in order to develop their own opinions. After all, isn’t that what students will need to do when they leave high school and enter the real world?

Leaving us off, Lasky shared a maxim she has lived by for twenty years. She believes that “The peace we seek is the peace we find.” Lasky firmly believes that whatever a person wants out of life is exactly what he or she is going to get. Many quotes lie scattered around her office and within her heart.