Proudly Endorsed By:

Amphi has worked hard to maintain the trust of our community. Evidence of that effort's success has been our community's continued support of our bond elections to maintain our buildings. However, I am concerned that the recent school closures have damaged some of that trust. In my discussions with community members over the last several months, 5 areas of concern have come up repeatedly:

* Innovate to Attract New Families to the District

* Invest in People and Programs

* More Transparency/Communication

* Demonstrate Trust in our Education Professionals

* Protect ALL Students' Right to a Quality Education

When John Fife’s family moved to Tucson in 1969, he was just 5 years old. The son of a Presbyterian Minister and a Virologist, he and his brother grew up on the edge of Barrio Santa Rosa. After graduating from Northern Arizona University in 1990 with degrees in Secondary Education and Social Sciences, he returned to Tucson.

John spent his entire 30-year teaching career in the Amphitheater District. He taught 7th and 8th grade Social Studies for 25 years at Cross Middle School; spent a year as a Curriculum and Instructional Support Professional where he mentored 1st year teachers, helped experienced teachers implement new programs, and developed and presented staff developments to schools all across the district; and taught Economics and Government at Canyon del Oro High School until he retired in 2021. John’s wife, Deanna, also taught in Amphi and all four of their children went to Harleson Elementary, Cross Middle, and graduated from Canyon del Oro High School.

Throughout his career, John was counted on by students, parents, administrators and fellow teachers in various leadership roles. Starting with his second year in the classroom, he served as Building Leader for Cross Middle School. From there he was elected to the Amphitheater Education Association’s Executive Board as Middle School Representative, then Vice-President, and ultimately served as President for five years. He coached boys soccer, cross country and girl’s volleyball. He successfully advocated for one of his female students who tried to join her middle school wrestling team but was initially turned away. This opened the door not only for her, but for other girls in the district and eventually, the city. John served as a faculty advisor to clubs at both the middle and high school. He helped chaperone Cross Middle School’s annual trip to Catalina Island and helped his wife with her twice a year “Family Marine Biology Weekend” in Rocky Point, Mexico.

John’s work with the Amphitheater Education Association gave him many opportunities to advocate for fair treatment of those around him and earned him much respect in the district, the greater Tucson area and across the state. He joined Governing Board Members, Administrators and other staff members on multiple trips to lobby our state legislature for more education funding. John represented the Amphitheater district at the Arizona Education Association’s Delegate Assembly and represented Arizona at the National Education Association’s Representative Assembly. He served on the Meet and Confer teams for the district to negotiate wage, salary and benefit packages for employees in the district - where he learned to dig into and decipher the district’s budget - as well as develop many of the district’s policies. As President of the Amphitheater Education Association, John served on textbook adoption, curriculum, final assessment, and performance pay committees. He was asked to serve as the Arizona Education Association’s representative on the Metropolitan Education Commission and on the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction’s Teacher Advisory Council.

John’s experience and skills make him uniquely qualified to serve as Governing Board Member.