Atlanta Public Schools officials are mourning the death of the district's director of career, technical and agricultural education programs.
Michael Maze was found deceased at his home Monday, school board Chairman Jason Esteves announced at a meeting before holding a moment of silence in Maze’s memory.
“Obviously this is shocking to Dr. Maze’s colleagues and to the entire APS family. Dr. Maze was a dedicated and talented leader of our CTA work and made countless contributions to the work of this district and in the state,” Esteves said.
Maze had worked for the district for 21 years and had been the director of the district's career, technical and agricultural program since 2012. In 2017, the Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education named him its Administrator of the Year.
He began his APS career in 1997 and worked as a business education teacher at Southside High School and North Atlanta High School.
For six years, he served as the career and technical education department chairman at North Atlanta High School.
School board member Cynthia Briscoe Brown, who traveled last month with Maze to France and Spain to expand foreign exchange opportunities for students, said she’s known Maze since he worked at North Atlanta High School.
“Michael’s passion for learning and his unbounded curiosity made him unafraid to ask bold questions and dream big dreams,” Briscoe Brown said. “Michael was always coming up with creative ways to broaden our students’ horizons.”
