EXCELLENCE IN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AWARD      

Mission Achievement And Success (MAS) Charter School

JoAnn Mitchell, Ed.S., is an education reform leader and the Founder & CEO of Mission Achievement and Success (MAS) Charter School — an organization whose mission is to prepare underserved students to be successful in college and in life by providing a
rigorous college preparatory program in a safe and engaging learning environment. In addition to her leadership role at MAS, JoAnn serves as the Director of the Mission Achievement and Success Education Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization that recently
received an unrestricted $3,000,000 gift from the novelist and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.

JoAnn possesses over 30 years of education leadership and education reform experience, including as a school founder, district administrator, school psychologist, and classroom teacher. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education and
Psychology from Elmira College (Elmira, NY); her Master of Education degree (M.Ed.) and Educational Specialist (Ed.S) designation in School Psychology — both from the Georgia State University’s prestigious College of Education & Human Development (Atlanta, GA); and her Certificate of Advanced Study in School Administration from SUNY Cortland (Cortland, NY).

Under her leadership, MAS’s literacy and math achievement rates are far higher than those of Albuquerque Public Schools, schools across the state of New Mexico as a whole, and even the suburban Rio Rancho, NM, school district. In recognition of its Top 25
percent ranking in the state, MAS has been designated as either an “A” rated or “Spotlight School” by the New Mexico Public Education Department for eight consecutive years. MAS is one of only a handful of schools in New Mexico to ever receive these designations while engaging a traditionally disadvantaged and impoverished student demographic. MAS currently serves more than 2,200 students in grades PreK-12 at two campuses in Albuquerque, NM.

Recognized by SUCCESS magazine as a 2022 Woman of Influence and by the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce with its 2023 President’s Award, JoAnn has been featured in numerous news and feature articles for her pioneering efforts and
extraordinary achievements, including MAS’s unprecedented 100% graduation rate