News

Friday, October 10, 2008

Principal Jo Ann Caines to be Honored by the Anti-Defamation League

La Cumbre Junior High School principal Jo Ann Caines will be one of the honorees at the Sunday, October 26, 33rd Annual Community Service Awards Dinner. She will receive the Educator Award. Chuck Slosser of the Santa Barbara Foundation and community philanthropists Irma and Morrie Jurkowitz will be honored at the dinner.

Jo Ann is a native of Santa Barbara and graduated from Santa Barbara High School. She earned a bachelor's degree from UCLA and a master's degree from the University of Illinois. She taught at La Cumbre Junior High before serving as the assistant principal. She went on to become the principal at Adams Elementary School in 1995, a position she held for almost a decade. As the principal of La Cumbre Junior High School, Jo Ann has focused on raising the academic bar for all students, “I want all students to receive a quality education that give them many choices for lifelong careers.”

An active participant in the Anti-Defamation League's A World of Difference, Jo Ann has initiated schoolwide dialogue on the topic of bullying through the One School One Book project. Last year, La Cumbre students read and discussed The Revealers. This year students are reading and talking about Bobby's Story.

Congratulations Jo Ann, the 2008 Anti-Defamation League Community Service Award winner!