English
English classes are lively at Fountain Valley School, balancing studies in American and world literature while incorporating a mix of classic, contemporary, and avant-garde texts.
The writing process is emphasized at all levels and includes organization, argument, mechanics, and creativity. Classes are taught seminar-style, and sharing one's voice is an essential part of active participation.
For the extroverts among us, a perennial favorite is Fountain Valley's School-wide English Department Theater Festival, which encourages students to act out scenes from Shakespeare and other playwrights, and afterward attend a medieval-style, utensil-free dinner.
And for students who desire to showcase their skills as an orator while representing FVS, the School participates in the annual Poetry Out Loud contest. In recent years, four Fountain Valley students have won the State competition and have competed at nationals in Washington, D.C. In 2022, FVS placed second in the nation. The English Department also sponsors a city-wide poetry contest in Colorado Springs each year.
Meet Our English Faculty
David Reynolds
ENGLISH DEPT. CHAIR
dreynolds@fvs.edu
(719) 391-5336
Nicolas Santucci
WORLD LANGUAGES FACULTY (SPANISH), ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING (ELL) FACULTY, INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ADVISOR
nsantucci@fvs.edu
(719) 391-5210
Athenaea, 2025
Poetry Out Loud
History of Winners
2007: Katie Medved
2009: Johnny Redmond
2010: Dempsey Simonis
2011: Emma Reynolds (Top 8 in the State)
2014: Dominic Carrese (Top 8 in the State)
2015: Rowen Felt
2016: David Cendon Garcia (State Winner; Top 24 at Nationals)
2017: Will Edelson (State Winner; Top 24 at Nationals)
2018: Kat Potts (Top 8 in the State)
2019: Belinda Garrow (4th in the State and Trophy)
2020: Kaya Cockrell (State Winner; Nationals Canceled due to COVID)
2021: Aidyn Reid (State Winner; Placed in Top 9 at Nationals)
2022: Aidyn Reid (State Winner; Placed 2nd at Nationals)
2023: Caitlyn Storey
2024: Brynn Jensen
2025: Katie Benavides (4th in the State)
Liana Fernez
ENGLISH FACULTY
lfernez@fvs.edu
(719) 391-5352
Joshua Bloom
ENGLISH FACULTY
jbloom@fvs.edu
(719) 391-5334
Julie Frost
ENGLISH FACULTY
jfrost@fvs.edu
(719) 391-5303
Josh Alford
ENGLISH FACULTY
jalford@fvs.edu
(719) 391-5324
Torey Davie
ENGLISH FACULTY
tdavie@fvs.edu
(719) 391-5339
Haiyun Lu
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT DIRECTOR, CO- CAPSTONE DIRECTOR, ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING (ELL), FACULTY GLOBAL SCHOLAR DIPLOMA FACULTY
hlu@fvs.edu
(719) 391-5341