English

The English department at Manitou Springs High School is committed to helping all students become lifelong readers, critical thinkers, and citizens who engage with the world around them. Students at all levels will engage in choice independent reading in order to build reading stamina, learn information for college and career interests, and be surrounded by stories, which have the power to transport us to new places, build empathy for others, and inspire us to meet our full potential. Students will also read challenging works of literature and nonfiction as a whole class with the guidance of teachers. Students at all levels will learn and practice civil discourse through Socractic Seminar, write for a variety of audiences and purposes, and exercise their analytical skills through literary and rhetorical analysis in speech and writing. It is our goal to do all of this in an engaging and relevant way in a supportive environment that meets students where they are.


English Department Staff


Pierce Gillard

Pierce Gillard is an English teacher at Manitou Springs High School. Born and raised in Colorado Springs, Pierce graduated from the University of Wyoming in 2016 with degrees in English and Secondary Education, whereafter he happily returned home to colorful Colorado and began his teaching career at Manitou Springs High School. In the classroom he has taught multiple levels of English curricula, including English I, English I Honors, English II, AP Language and Composition, Creative Writing, Mythology and Classics, as well as English III and IV. He continues to be excited to continue learning alongside the other teachers and students he gets to interact within our uniquely Manitou community. Outside of school, Pierce enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, hiking, biking, reading good books, making lists of movies to watch “later”, and playing with their dog.


Ben Gilliam
Ben earned his B.A. in English Literature from Fort Lewis College in 2007 and his teaching credentials from Western State College a year later. He began teaching in 2009 at the Gunnison Valley School in Gunnison, CO. There, he learned the transformative power of experiential and outdoor education, because much of the curriculum took place outside of the traditional classroom. Then, in 2012, he moved to Florissant, CO and began teaching English at Manitou Springs High School. In 2016, Ben started the Manitou Abound Program (MAP) as a way to bring experiential and outdoor learning to MSHS and has since helped students find success by connecting their in-classroom learning with meaningful experiences outside of the classroom (including camping trips, whitewater rafting, mountain biking, rock climbing, hiking, nature journaling, and more). Outside of his role as teacher, Ben enjoys whitewater kayaking, photography, swimming, hiking, skiing, camping, reading and writing poetry, drawing, painting, and spending as much time as possible with his family: his park ranger/artist wife, Whitney, and their two adventure-loving dogs, Milo and Tobin.


Amanda Kerrigan
Amanda graduated from La Cueva High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1998. She followed in her father's footsteps and attended college at the University of Kansas, where she earned a BA in English, a BS in Secondary Education, and her MA in Education (...and attended MANY basketball games). She has served in public education as a teacher since 2003, teaching in inner city Kansas City, Kansas, working with kids impacted by poverty and gang violence; Mesa Ridge High School in southern Colorado Springs, teaching everything from remedial reading courses to AP English Literature & Composition and serving as department chair, PLC leader; La Veta Jr./Sr. High, a rural school with 50 students; and finally Manitou Springs High School since 2016, where she plans to teach until she retires. Amanda teaches a variety of English courses and advises The Prospector, the online student media of MSHS. She is also the National Honor Society adviser and a member of the Building Leadership Team. Manitou has become her forever home. Amanda enjoys spending time with her husband Brian and two sons, reading, swimming, traveling, and enjoying the Colorado outdoors as much as possible.


Riley Walker
Riley Walker was born and raised in Colorado Springs and graduated from Air Academy High School. He studied Literature at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. During his time at Puget Sound, Riley published two poems and a short story, worked on the editorial staff at Crosscurrents Literary and Arts Journal, was the Poetry Editor at the Wetlands Magazine, and was a DJ for three years at the campus radio station, KUPS the Sound. After he graduated, he moved to Seattle for a year before returning to Colorado Springs. He has worked as a library aide at Cheyenne Mountain High School, helped to add academic intervention and restorative justice to the ISS program at Palmer High School, and taught English for two years at Mitchell High School. Following this, he managed special metropolitan districts, and during this two year period he was a CSHBA Emerging Leader. He returned to education, getting his Master of Arts in Teaching degree at Colorado College, doing his student teaching at Manitou Springs High School. He has continued to write and publish.


See the Curriculum Handbook for English courses we offer