Craig Mai came to Mingus Union High School in 1997. A Kansas resident who had been trained as an engineer and worked for AT&T for four years, Mai sought a life change.
He took a buyout from AT&T after realizing he did not want to be there for the rest of his life, got a teaching certificate at Washburn University in Topeka, Kan., and decided to move to Arizona for the warm weather. On the drive down to Phoenix for interviews at schools, Mai knocked on the door at Mingus, which he saw had an opening for a math teacher.
On April 27, in his 20th year as a math teacher at Mingus, Mai won Yavapai County’s award for Teacher of the Year.
Mai said he thinks of teaching as a calling. Not only does he teach math and physics, but he also serves as a coach for the golf and basketball teams at Mingus.
“I try to approach teaching the same way I coach and vice versa,” Mai said. “For the math classroom, I try to treat homework assignments like practice. We’re trying to learn. We’re trying to get better. We’re trying to make mistakes, figure out what those are, make game plans, how to correct them so that we are prepared for the competitions, which would be quizzes and tests. I try to help students understand that they’re going to learn more from their mistakes on homework than from the problems that they got right. And that’s just the same as on the golf course or the basketball court.”
Even as he appreciates the importance of students making mistakes as they learn, Mai said it is math’s tendency toward clear, black-and-white delineations that he is drawn to.
“I do like the fact that in the end, there is a correct answer,” Mai said. “So I do like that part of it, the logic, the structure. It’s the language of the universe.”
MUHS Superintendent Penny Hargrove said she realized Mai was a special teacher on the first day she interviewed for a job at Mingus.
“The way that he addressed and talked about the school, talked about the students in the school — you could see the way he oozed passion, respect and enthusiasm for this whole school,” Hargrove said. “The opportunities I’ve had to observe him — in the classroom, on the court, on the golf course, and then in front of our community — that’s the man I met when I interviewed.”
Beyond his time in the classroom and as a coach, Mai often acts as a leader among Mingus teachers — as one of the longer-serving teachers at Mingus, Mai said he feels like he is held to a high standard, and almost feels like a part-owner of the school. He was heavily involved in the Red for Ed movement last month, and made a presentation at a school board meeting requesting for the school to be closed on the first day of the walkout so teachers could travel to Phoenix for demonstrations. Mai requested that the board trust the teachers to hold to their word and only be gone one day, a request the board unanimously agreed to.
“Craig is an inspiration. He goes above and beyond for his students, and he also goes above and beyond for his colleagues and for Mingus as a school,” said Principal Genie Gee, who wrote the letter nominating him for the position, an action she said came easily. “He was the choice this year for Teacher of the Year. It’s just his year.”
After the initial letter nominating him, Mai wrote multiple essays advocating for his teaching skills as part of the Teacher of the Year process, interviewed with the Yavapai County panel and was videotaped in his classroom. He was one of 73 teachers nominated this year, whittled down to 18 finalists, then six category winners. He won the category for High School Teacher of the Year, as well the overall award.
The award comes with a $7,000 prize. Mai said he looks forward to spending some of it on a trip to Greece with his girlfriend this summer.
“He is a very unique individual, ” said Yavapai County Schools Superintendent Tim Carter, touting his transfer from engineering into teaching, and praising his attitude and passion. “When you talk to students or colleagues, you get that same sense” of total respect for Mai as a teacher. “It’s not just what is said, it’s how it’s said.”
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551 or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
