Hello, my name is Kristin McCullough and I am the AVID counselor at SHS.  My Bachelor's degree is in Elementary Education from Oklahoma State University  and my Master's Degree is in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University.  I have taught elementary age students and have been a counselor at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.  I have the great opportunity and pleasure of helping and advising all the AVID students grades 9-12.  My favorite part of AVID is seeing students apply and get accepted to college and knowing that the college education that they are about to receive is going to put them on a path to a brighter future.

My name is Diego Scott, and I have the pleasure of being one of the AVID Coordinators at SHS. I attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for my undergraduate degree in Biology. I currently teach AP Biology, Marine Biology, and AVID 9.  I have had the honor of being a part of the SHS AVID for 14 of my 17 years at SHS. During my time in the program I have worked with 3 different groups of AVID classes, each of which made a lasting impact in my life and teaching career.  During my 14 years in AVID I have witnessed tremendous growth and increasing success of our amazing program. If you are first generation college student and want to attend a 4 year university, our amazing team will help open that door for you.

My name is Nick Garcia and I have the honor of being the AVID class of 2026 teacher.  This is my 32nd year in education and I have been fortunate to be part of the SHS AVID program for the past 9.  Like my AVID students in the future, I was the first in my family to earn a college degree. After obtaining a bachelor's Degree from San Jose State University, I was able to earn my teaching credential and Master's degree from CSU San Jose as well.  In addition to AVID, I teach government, both college prep and Advanced Placement.  I am very proud to be a member of our AVID program at Salinas High School.

My name is Gabrielle Hutchinson, and I am the AVID c/o 2024 teacher. I was born in Salinas and attended North Salinas High School. I completed my undergraduate degree at California State University, Monterey Bay in Communications, making me the first person in my family to go to college. I later obtained my master's degree in English Literature at Southern New Hampshire University. I started teaching in 2015 and have worked at Salinas High since then. I have taught every grade level of English, but I am currently teaching 11th grade AP Language and Composition in addition to my AVID sections. 

Mrs. Christa Kile is the AVID teacher for the class of 2025. Having been an AVID student her self, over twenty years ago, Mrs. Kile knows that AVID can be a life changing opportunity. This is one of the reasons that teaching AVID is one of her proudest accomplishments in her 13 year career as an educator. In her 10th grade year, Mrs. Kile visited Sacramento State University, and ended up spending eight years there as a college student. She earned her Bachelor's Degree in Social Science, a teaching credential specializing in Bilingual/Multicultural Education, and a Master's Degree in Language and Literacy. Mrs. Kile was the first in her entire family (cousins included) to go straight to a 4-year college, and is the only one to have earned a Master's Degree. She credits AVID to the success she achieved as an undergraduate student because she felt prepared to write college level papers and lead college study groups on her own. 

Mrs. Kile's biggest hope for the class of 2025 is that they understand that it is the choices that they make that defines who they are and who they will become, not how they were born. Through their hard work and determination, she knows they will find a way to make their AVID dreams come true, just like she did.