Our Founder

JoAnn Mitchell is the Founder and CEO of Mission Achievement and Success (MAS) Charter School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As a first generation high school graduate and college graduate, JoAnn has overcome significant obstacles and adversity and reports that her life was transformed through the power of education, and as a result she now serves as a catalyst for change by providing transformational educational experiences for others. JoAnn has dedicated her life work to serving underserved students and communities by creating a charter school model that has not only begun to transform education in New Mexico, but has served to write a different narrative for underserved students and their communities.

 

JoAnn has over 30 years of experience across the country as a classroom teacher, school psychologist, and building and district level administrator. She earned her B.A. in Elementary Education and Psychology from Elmira College, her M.Ed and Ed.S in School Psychology from Georgia State University, and her Certificate of Advanced Study in School Administration from Cortland State University.  Under JoAnn’s leadership, MAS is an “A” rated school in New Mexico, one of only 13% of schools in the state to receive this designation, and one of the only schools in New Mexico to receive this designation while serving an underserved student demographic. MAS currently serves over 2,200 students in grades PreK-12 at two campuses in Albuquerque, NM. MAS was the first charter school in New Mexico to replicate.

 

Under JoAnn’s leadership, MAS has been recognized by the US World & News Report as one of the top rated New Mexico schools for elementary, middle, and high school. Additionally, JoAnn was recently recognized by Success Magazine as a 2022 Woman of Influence, one of 50 women across the country recognized for pioneering change, revolutionizing industries, and shaping lives.