The mission of Gompers Preparatory Academy, in partnership with UCSD and our community, is to accelerate academic achievement for all students through a college preparatory culture and curriculum.
Hi! My name is Kelly O'Connell-Martinez and I teach History at Gompers Preparatory Academy. I have a bachelor's degree in Multicultural Studies, a master's degree in Teaching, and am going into my 11th year of teaching. It is my great passion in life to be a teacher and I consider it an honor to teach your child. My previous experience includes teaching high school and middle school in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and teaching GED Prep at ECC in southeast San Diego. Prior to living in San Diego, I lived in Minneapolis, Chicago, and on the island of Cozumel in Mexico.
In addition to being a teacher, I am also a wife, mom, and a new grandma. I have been married for 20 years to my husband who is from Mexico City. My oldest daughter is married and lives in Chicago with her husband and new baby. My grandson was born in May and is a chubby, fun little boy. My youngest daughter is a recent graduate of Helix Charter High School and is currently attending Grossmont Community College.
I spent the first five months of the Covid 19 pandemic quarantining with my oldest daughter in Chicago. Because her husband is an Army Reserves captain deployed to the Middle East, he was unable to come home for the birth of their first child. Having the opportunity to attend my grandson's birth and spend the first four months of his life with him was incredible and one for which I will be forever grateful.
I am thrilled to get back to teaching your amazing students! Although this pandemic and distance learning will undoubtedly bring challenges, I look forward to doing my best to provide your child with a rigorous education along with the emotional support and social connections we all so desperately need right now.
CONTACT ME
Contact between parents and teachers is key to a student's educational success. We are in this together! Please feel free to contact me (English or Spanish) between the hours of 7 am and 3:30 pm by either text or email. I am also available by text (619-784-6579) until 8:30 pm if that is more convenient. This number is for texting only because my slight hearing problem makes speaking on the phone difficult for me.
PRINCIPLES FOR DISTANCE LEARNING
1. None of us signed up for this.
Not for the sickness, not for the social distancing, not for the sudden end of our social lives together on campus or in the real world
Not for an online class, not for learning from home, not for teaching remotely
2. Helping each other will be the priority.
We are going to prioritize supporting each other as humans
We are going to prioritize sharing resources and communicating clearly
3. We cannot just do the same thing online that we did in the classroom
Some assignments are no longer possible
Some expectations are no longer reasonable
We will need to do things differently
4. We will encourage intellectual nourishment, social connection, and personal accommodation.
Daily synchronous discussion to learn together and fight against feelings of isolation
Asynchronous content for independent learning and student access no matter the place or time
5. We will remain flexible and continue to adjust to the situation.
Nobody knows where this is going and what we’ll need to adapt
Everybody needs support and understanding in this unprecedented moment
Let's be kind to each other and just do our best!
Modified from: Adjusted Syllabus, Spring 2020, Brandon Bayne, UNC - Chapel Hill
