Hello
I am Tawnee Johnson, aka "aunty Tawnee" to my students. I'm the lead teacher and director for the Tonto Apache Community School. I am half Dine of the clan of 'Near the Mountain People'
and a wife and mother to three beautiful daughters.​
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This school year will mark my 4th year teaching on the Tonto Apache reservation and I am so excited to see what this year has in store!
My Story
I have always known I wanted to be a teacher and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to do what I love and be with my children everyday. Through my years of parenting and teaching I have grown a strong passion for all things child and human development related. I love learning how a child's brain learns and grows and I am committed to learning how I can help make a child's experience in the classroom benefit them outside as well.
I started teaching on the reservation through a state charter partner in 2020 during the Covid-19 Pandemic with only a handful of students made up of my own children and several nieces and nephews whom are members of the Tonto Apache Tribe.
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I graduated from Grand Canyon University in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Education and ACSI Elementary Teacher certification. While pursing my education I raised three beautiful daughters alongside my husband and worked for the local school district in the early intervention program and as a substitute teacher.
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Prior to my career with the tribe I worked for the non-profit organization, Arizona Youth Partnership as an educator and case worker specializing in pregnancy and parenting education, child development and supporting homeless youth in Arizona.
In 2022 I began working with the Tonto Apache Tribe to establish the tribe's very first school system. With much support from the tribal council and their legal team, numerous laws were established to pave the way for the Tonto Apache Community School to become a non-profit organization and operate as an independent school under the Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988 .
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