Mary Jane Rios

Ms. Rios is a native of Milwaukee, WI where she attended Catholic school at Blessed Savior West on the city’s northwest side. There, she fell in love with Social Studies through the amazing lessons of her eighth-grade teacher. She continued to have fantastic Social Studies teachers in high school which led her to join her school’s Young Educator’s Society. From there, she went on to receive her bachelor’s degree in education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her broad field Social Studies license at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

She started her teaching career at Wauwatosa Public Schools as a substitute teacher, and later as a middle school Social Studies teacher at St. Rose Messmer, a Catholic school near downtown Milwaukee. In 2008, she became a member of the Social Studies department at St. Joan Antida High School, a Catholic all-girls school near the city’s east side. There, she coached the school’s Mock Trial for nine years and became the head of the Social Studies Department in 2011.

Since 2018 she has been a member of the Social Studies Department at Augustine Prep. Every year she looks forward to working with the students, staff, and parents of the school in order to continue the amazing work that Aug Prep has already started for the future of education in the city of Milwaukee. Her favorite catch phrase for her students is that she “bugs them because she loves them” since she never gives up on her students. She is excited to see the first high school group that she taught graduate this spring 2022.