Position: Baking/Culinary Instructor
School: Northwest Career and Technical Academy
School District: Clark County School District
City, State: Las Vegas, NV
Kathy Simmons was nominated anonymously.
Ms. Simmons creates a positive classroom environment by fostering a safe, supportive, respectful and engaging kitchen space while still emphasizing structure, teamwork and creativity. She sets clear expectations on day one:
She has taught at this school for eight years and at Le Cordon Bleu for 10 years prior. She was in charge of the commissary at Stations Casinos, opened Mandalay Bay Casino as the assistant Pastry Chef and moved up to Executive Pastry Chef after a year. She competed in the Culinary Olympics in Germany and was on Food Network for the Sugar Challenge in Las Vegas. Ms. Simmons has also sent over 10,000 cookies a year to the troops overseas, for over 15 years. She mentors students for SkillsUSA and recently took two of them to Atlanta, Georgia for the national competition.