This time, it was two different organizations that honored Chef Debbie Grant of Maxwell High School of Technology. Ms. Grant was recently selected as Georgia’s 2014 ProStart Teacher of the Year by the Hospitality Education Foundation of Georgia (HEFG) and the Greater Atlanta Chefs Association. By presenting this award to Ms. Grant, the organizations recognize her for motivating her students and for engaging them in the culinary arts industry. Debbie Grant has led the culinary arts program at Maxwell High School of Technology since 2011. Just a year later, she was named Maxwell High’s Teacher of the Year and one of 25 Semifinalists for Gwinnett County Teacher of the Year.
Ms. Grant helped launch the culinary arts program at Maxwell High after a decade of helping Meadowcreek High students place in top spots during national competitions as the school’s home economics teacher. Before teaching at the high school level, she was part of the Brookwood Elementary staff, joining the school district in 1997. She brought several years of experience to GCPS having taught in Missouri, Ohio, and Oregon. Ms. Grant holds a bachelor’s degree in Home Economics Education from Bowling Green State University and has completed graduate work at the University of Missouri in Child and Family Development. This is not the first time that her work with Gwinnett students has been recognized. In 2009, she was named the state’s best as the 2009 ProStart Teacher of the Year.
