On May 12, a group of about 150 students at Westminster High School got to meet and ask questions of their local representative, Congressman Derek Tran. The visit was born in part from an assignment to write letters to Tran about the juvenile justice system for a class that incorporates the CSU-led
Expository Reading and Writing Curriculum (ERWC).
Implemented in about 1,000 high schools across California, the English language arts curriculum for 9th through 12th grades is designed for A-G approved English classes and prepares students for college-level writing courses.
Kimberly Moore, an English teacher at Westminster High School, has been teaching ERWC classes at the school for the past 10 years. The school first introduced a single ERWC course as another option alongside Advanced Placement and Honors classes, and it now offers about five ERWC sections of English classes for juniors and seniors.
“It is more like a college course where there's argumentation, reading nonfiction articles and dealing with more relevant real-world issues, and so we thought that would be a great option for the students," Moore said.
The course is particularly appealing to students, she said, because unlike traditional book learning, "you're actually looking at key issues and components that could be influential or beneficial to your life."
As part of a unit on juvenile justice, the curriculum recommended having students write an open letter on the topic—but Moore adjusted the assignment to involve writing letters to Congressman Tran, who became the third Vietnamese American to be elected to Congress and the first to represent California with his 2024 electoral win.
“On our campus, it's a huge Vietnamese population and I think it's so important for our students to see representation, to see that someone who looks like them and grew up in a place like them can aspire to such heights to be part of government, to have influence in the world," Moore said. “I want them to have that same hope for themselves that if they work hard enough and if they focus, they can do something great, too."
“I knew that he could, as their representative, create change. He could listen to their voices asking either for further education, rehabilitation, whatever it may be, and he could potentially move that forward in Washington, D.C."
The visit included students from Moore's English classes as well as a government class. They asked questions ranging from Tran's views on hard-hitting topics like the juvenile justice system and school safety to his new role as congressman.
“This visit from Congressman Tran represents a perfect illustration of the ways in which high school writers are able to affect change and see the power of their literacy skills in action," said Chris Street, a Cal State Fullerton professor and a member of the ERWC Steering Committee.
English Teacher Kimberly Moore and Congressman Derek Tran at Westminster High School.
Congressman Derek Tran addresses Westminster High School students.
Strengthening Literacy Skills
For more than 20 years, ERWC has prepared high school students for college and their future careers by helping them develop critical thinking and rhetorical literacy skills.
To encourage students to think critically and deeply, teachers incorporate ERWC modules from a variety of topics into their classes. For example, the 12th grade curriculum includes Shakespeare drama, full-length books and contemporary issues while the 11th grade curriculum features American foundational documents, American drama, full-length books, research and contemporary issues.
The ERWC faculty consistently work to improve and expand the program, having introduced new learning modules and year-long curricula for grades 7 through 12 in recent years. This summer, ERWC will be rolling out
new middle school modules in topics like the metaverse, water protectors and plastic use.
To help schools implement ERWC in their classrooms, the CSU offers free professional learning workshops for teachers, available in-person, in a hybrid format and online. Teachers who complete the workshops get free, lifetime access to instructive curriculum materials through the ERWC Community website.
Schools interested in adopting the year-long course may submit a two-page application to the CSU. Once implemented, the class can be added to the school's list of UC-approved “A-G" courses.
Visit the EWRC website to learn more about the curriculum, apply, find workshops and access teacher resources.