After nearly two decades in the classroom, AP Language and AP Seminar teacher Jeannie Griffin will retire at the end of this school year, marking the end of her West Shore career that began in 2008.

“When I first came to West Shore there was an opening for ninth and 10th grade, so I decided to take it,” Griffin said. “AP Seminar did not exist at the time. I had previously worked at Cocoa Beach, and I taught the IB program. I also taught AP Literature at Cocoa Beach, but I wanted to get closer to home.”

Previous English II Honors and AP Language teacher Mary Mason taught at West Shore beginning in 2005, and eventually retired in 2020.

“We had a wonderful AP Language teacher, who I can’t even say enough good things about her, she was phenomenal,” Griffin said. “When she retired, I picked up the AP Language classes, and I’ve been teaching it since then. And then in the 2013-2014 timeframe is when AP Seminar came online, and we were one of the first schools to teach it. I really enjoy working with the kids, and I enjoy the higher level critical thinking skills that are involved in the course.”

Having previously taught at Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School, Griffin said she was able to identify academic excellence when she switched to teaching at West Shore.

“I had been working with the IB program at Cocoa Beach, so I was very used to high level academic students who are intelligent and want to learn,” Griffin said. “I knew Mr. Fleming because I had worked with him at Cocoa Beach when he was an assistant principal. I wanted to get closer to home, so I called him and asked him if he had a position open. He said yes, and that it would only be ninth and 10th grade. I said that it was fine, because kids are kids, so I taught ninth and 10th grade for a few years, and I liked it.”

Griffin began teaching at West Shore in 2008, but she said she has seen the school maintain its success throughout the years.

“In many ways, West Shore has stayed the same over the years. I think the fact that we have this high standard of excellence is very important, and I think that being able to maintain that rigor and stay on like the US, world and news reports at a high level over the years is a testament to all the hard work. Encouragement from our admin, high standards from our teachers, and our parents for being supportive have all pushed students and made them successful.”

Griffin has made plans to leave at the end of this school year because of a promise to her husband. 

“I will be turning 62 next October, and I had been promising my husband for a few years that I would retire,” Griffin said. “ I told him to at least give me till I turn 62, and obviously I don’t want to leave mid-school year, so I’m retiring at the end of this year.”

However, Griffin’s decision to retire was also based on the increasing usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in classrooms.

“I didn’t know that my heart was in it until later, when this year, all of this AI has really started integrating into and flooding into everybody’s lives,” Griffin said. “ I think that it’s really harming students and their critical thinking, because there’s such easy access to answers and having a machine doing the thinking for them, it’s harming them. I know the school system will get it under control. You know, educators will have to learn to deal with us, and our first step was to get turnitin.com this year. Teaching the students how to navigate around it is something that will take a little time, but I have no doubt that our administration will set the standard with ensuring that our kids are still getting a good education.”

Griffin’s adventures will continue on after retirement, and she already has plans for her future.

“I plan to see the grandkids more, they live in Pennsylvania, so we’ll be able to travel up there to see them a little bit more,” Griffin said. “I plan to just take a lot of hiking around different parks in the state and across the country, to some traveling to national parks.”