“Are you sure you will be safe?” Ms. Jo’s parents questioned. But Ms. Jo, never worrying about something that may not happen, knew what she wanted to do: give her kids a good education. Seeing the struggles her two kids with learning disabilities had with school made her realise she wanted to get all kids the help they need and deserve.

Although she says that she herself did not pay much attention in school, one seventh-grade teacher stood out the most to young Jo Harrison was Mr. Best. He was a teacher with high expectations who still made all of his students feel that he actually cared. “All the students knew that he cared, genuinely cared. He was one of the first times I ever consciously remembered one of my teachers because I always remembered how much he cared.” Ms. Jo also reflects some of these qualities as a teacher. She is an attentive and kindhearted teacher who wants kids to want to attend school regularly. “It’s disheartening how many students just really don’t want to come to school, and they don’t have any joy in school.” She tries to make her classroom a place where people want to be and look forward to coming to. She puts her energy into the classroom, even when she doesn’t feel energized.

After she finished her education, she managed a large non-profit in Australia, where she worked for age care and disability programs. While there, her husband was offered a teaching job in France, and so they moved. There, she got her first teaching job. While trying to learn French, the school asked her why she didn’t just teach kids English. And that’s what she did. She taught them for just under eight years.

While in France, her two children began struggling in school, so Jo and her husband decided to move to America. They settled in California after her husband was offered a teaching job at Sonoma State University.  She began teaching at McKinley Elementary, where she also taught special education. After five years of teaching there, she decided she wanted to work with “big kids,” so she came to Casa, where her kids had also attended high school.

After working for five years at Casa, Ms. Jo has become an integral part of the community. She is delighted with how everyone treats each other and cares for one another. “It’s a great team, us here in the special ed department. But in general, all the teachers here are great. I have always found them to be really caring people. Teachers here want to do the right thing, and that makes this a really nice place to be.”