Debra Jamison has taught Family Consumer Science for almost 30 years
By Molly Ann Howell and Kim Helfenbein
Each month, the Sun recognizes a local teacher for his or her determination to help students go above and beyond. Anyone can nominate a teacher by emailing the Sun at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and providing the teacher’s name, where they teach, and why they should be selected as that month’s winner.
This month’s award went to Debra Jamison, who teaches cooking classes for the Gallup-McKinley County Schools district.
A PASSION FOR FCS
Jamison was born and raised in Gallup, and she graduated from Gallup High School in 1975. She grew up playing school with her siblings, always playing the role of teacher.
After graduating from GHS, she went on to the University of New Mexico, where she had every intention of becoming an elementary school teacher. But then she learned about Family Consumer Science and found herself falling in love with the subject.
Now, she’s been teaching the subject for almost 36 years, although she did take a brief vacation from the subject when she became a counselor after she earned her Master’s Degree in Counseling.
She started her career at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, where she taught FCS for three years. She then moved to Las Vegas, N.V., where she was a school counselor for four years before moving back home to Gallup. She was a counselor for the GMCS district for almost seven years, from August 2009 to May 2016, before she decided to move back to Las Vegas to teach FCS again. She finally moved back to Gallup in 2019 when an FCS position opened up at GMCS, and she’s been there ever since.
SKILLS THE KIDS NEED
As an FCS teacher, Jamison has taught kids a variety of life skills, from sewing a button on a shirt to all about childhood development, from infancy to the teenage years. She said that the skills taught in FCS classrooms are very important.
“It’s life skills that all kids need,” she said. “They need to learn how to sew on a button, or fix a pair of jeans, or go into a grocery store and pick out nutritious foods.”
Throughout her career Jamison has taught students a variety of subjects, and she enjoys every topic.
“When it comes to teaching about food and cooking and nutrition, it’s just so exciting. It doesn’t matter what field I’m in with the FCS areas, I love it all,” she said.
For the past five years, Jamison has been teaching GMCS’ Pro Start classes. Pro Start is a two-year high school program that teaches culinary arts and restaurant management skills.
Jamison gets to use industrial kitchens when she’s teaching her cooking classes. Students have access to industrial ovens and dishwashers at the Opportunity Career Center, along with a mock restaurant.
One of Jamison’s students, Genevieve, said she’s really appreciated everything Jamison has taught her.
“Mrs. Jamison is really patient,” she explained. “When we make mistakes, she just has us start over with no fuss. She’s taught me a lot about teamwork, cooking, and restaurant management.”
Another student, Aaron, actually took his culinary skills to Albuquerque two years ago to compete in a Pro Start competition. As a part of the competition, a team of five students had to prepare five dishes and present them to judges for a taste test.
Aaron said he likes how Jamison gives direct instructions when she teaches, which helps students understand what to do in the kitchen.
IN HER SPARE TIME
Jamison has taken her FCS skills outside of the classroom. When she first moved back to Gallup, she taught a quilt making class, which was open to kids and adults alike.
Now, when she isn’t in the kitchen, she’s on the soccer field, watching her husband coach the Miyamura girls soccer team. She said she’s enjoyed watching the girls grow as a team and as individual players throughout the season.
