Top teacher award for FHS’s Love

Long-time Farragut High School art teacher Wendie Love has been named Special Needs Art Educator of the Year for 2021 by the Tennessee Arts Education Association.

“It is very well-deserved,” said FHS Principal Dr. John Bartlett.

“Each year art educators are nominated for twenty different awards that are offered by the TAEA,” explained Dr. David G Meade TAEA president-elect/Awards Chair. “These educators are nominated by fellow members of the organization that show an aptitude for one of the awards categories.

“All of the nominations are scored based off of a scoring rubric which can be found on our website. This scoring system looks at educator performance, participation in the State Association, participation in the national Association, ongoing personal art production and exhibition, and work as an art educator.”

“I am not certain how TAEA decided on the phrasing for the award, but I assume it means that I am pretty good at teaching my [Special Education] kids,” said Love modestly.

Love has worked for Knox County Schools for 28 years, and has been at FHS since 1999. She currently teaches AP Art history, ceramics, painting, sculpture and visual art I.

Additionally, Love is a founding member of a juried group of ceramic East Tennessee artists, Terra Madre, in which she shows and sells her ceramic work in annual group exhibitions.

She has won numerous awards throughout her career for both teaching and her artwork, including six Outstanding Teacher Awards from the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts, and being named Teacher of the Year - Building Level, by the State Department of Education in 2007.