New Schools for the Arts & Academics
Tempe, AZ
Jo Anne Craig is a teacher, school administrator, and teacher mentor at New School for the Arts & Academics in Tempe, Arizona. A former lawyer, Jo Anne chose to direct her energy and passion to the classroom, becoming certified in secondary education and earning a master's degree in Educational Leadership from Arizona State University. She has taught all grade levels in social studies and English but enjoys U.S. History and civics-related education the most. Socratic Seminars and class simulations are an integral part of her teaching practice.
According to Jo Anne, devoting time to extra-curricular clubs in civics-related education has been a pivotal way to engage students in civics and world affairs. Seeing students eager to find solutions to real-world issues, whether at the local, state, national, or international level has been inspiring. In the past, Jo Anne mentored teams for several years for the Junior States of America (JSA) Model Congress and Debate competitions. This year, she started her school’s first Model United Nations Club attending 3 different simulations.
Discovering the Arizona Legal Foundation early in her teaching career, Jo Anne participated in a summer program for We the People and served as a judge at the regional Congressional Hearing competitions. She has also participated in Project Citizen and Kids Voting programs. Her school has participated in the Kids Voting Simulation for the last ten years with generally about 80% student participation. This year, she served as a school advisor for her students on the Kids Voting Leadership Council. Over the summer she will complete the Student Voice Workshop to help implement new programs for Project Citizen and School Participatory Budgeting.
She enjoys reading, watching detective series, and spending time at home with her husband and four dogs.