Centennial Middle School
Yuma, AZ
Rachel Baker works relentlessly to ensure her 7th-grade ELA and writing students are actively engaged, critical thinkers. Her journey into law-related education began when her students asked a fair question about her syllabus: "Why do we have to write so many essays? What career will actually require this?" Driven by her school’s mission to help students develop real-world agency and voice, Ms. Baker knew abstract lessons on tone and word choice weren't enough. She partnered with an 8th-grade social studies teacher with over 15 years of experience, to connect classroom assignments directly to real-world impact. Together, they launched their students into the 2026 Arizona Project Citizen Program.
Through this hands-on civics program, students learned to pitch and defend arguments directly to the county superintendent, the school district board, and the city mayor. In their first year of Project Citizen participation, Ms. Baker’s class earned an invitation to the 2026 Arizona Project Citizen State Showcase and received a prestigious “Superior” rating for their presentations. Refusing to stop at the state showcase level, the students took their cause to a school board work session to help establish district goals for 2026–2027. The Crane Schools board officially adopted the students’ proposal and asked them to continue serving as active student advocates! Watching her middle schoolers transform into influential civic leaders who can shift district policy is what Ms. Baker proudly calls "teacher magic."