John Harris was born in Lawton, Oklahoma, and raised in the Cache-Indiahoma area.  He is enrolled on the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians roll with Comanche, Sac & Fox, and Pawnee descent. His Comanche great grandparents were James Kassanavoid and Nah-nah-vi-tah (Mary) Kopaddy. He attended Lawton Christian School, First Baptist School of Brownsville, TX, and Cache High School. He graduated from Cache High School in 1990. He attended the University of Oklahoma and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, with a minor in history in 1999. He worked for the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 2000-2006 as a Bill Processing Specialist, then worked for the Colorado State Senate in 2007-2008 as an Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms on the Senate floor.  

John Harris received his teacher certification through the alternative certification program with the Oklahoma Department of Education. He has taught history/government at Lawton Christian School, Grandfield High School, Cache Middle School, Walters Middle School, Big Pasture School, and currently at MacArthur Senior High School in Lawton, Oklahoma. He has served on the State Social Studies Standards Revisions Writing Committee in 2018, 2024, and 2026; the State Textbook Committee 2025; and the Item Workshop Committee for the State Social Studies Test 2025. He has also been an Advanced Placement US History reader in 2025 by grading essays for the College Board AP US History test. He has been serving as a Director on the Comanche Academy Charter School Board since July 2021.

He received his Master of Education in Educational Leadership from East Central University in 2019.  He will be pursuing his Doctor of Education from East Central University in the Fall 2026.

jharris@comancheacademy.com