Letter to Parents/Guardians 

Hello, parents and guardians!

I would like to start the year off by introducing myself. My name is Nick Kennedy. I am an alum of both Westmont College—where I received my BA in English Literature—and Cal Poly—where I graduated from the single subject teacher education program. I have been working within education for the past nine years—in varying capacities—and I am elated to have your students in class this year. My experience includes three years of teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) in Santa Barbara to international students from approximately thirty different nations. Prior to my arrival at AGHS, I also taught for the International Baccalaureate program as an IB Literature teacher.

I am currently a doctoral student in the Learning and Teaching in Social Contexts, EdD program through University at Buffalo, through which I am studying towards my doctorate in hopes of developing as a scholar-practitioner and further embracing my praxis with criticality and intentionality. In the 2024-2025 school year, I am also serving a term as a member of the National Humanities Center's Teacher Advisory Council (https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/education-programs/teacher-advisory-council/), through which I will assist in developing, evaluating, and promoting the National Humanities Center’s Education Programs. This is my fifth year at Arroyo Grande High School, and I am honored to be a member of the Eagle family!

This year, I have the privilege of teaching both English 10 and AP Research, the second course in the AP Capstone sequence. I want to support your students, so that they have every opportunity to achieve success in our class this year. I am happy to schedule time to work with students, and I can be reached by email. I try my best to respond to emails received between Monday mornings and Friday afternoons within twenty-four hours of receiving them, however, I do take a hiatus from my email on weekends, beginning at 3:45pm on Friday afternoons.

I am looking forward to teaching your students this year!

Best,

Nick Kennedy

[email protected]