Lots of ‘Love’
FHS art instructor a Teacher of the Year
Farragut High School art teacher Wendie Love has been named a Knox County Schools District Teacher of the Year.
Love received the honor along with Amanda Callahan-Mims of Spring Hill Elementary School and Kalie Bearden of Vine Middle School during a virtual celebration Tuesday, Feb. 23, which honored all three.
“Wendie is such a gifted art teacher,” FHS principal Dr. John Bartlett said. “Mostly her love for her students just oozes out of every pore.
“When you walk into her classroom, her passion is palpable.”
“Wendie Love, who is a master ceramicist, knows exactly how to shape her students minds,” said Love’s supervisor, Dr. Heather Casteel, fine art content specialist with KCS. “Her students are at the center of her focus. She is gentle at just the right times to lift them to new heights and always provides firm support, bracing them just as their walls might fall.
“We are lucky to have Wendie in our Fine Arts Department,” Casteel added. “I’m so proud that she has been recognized for her accomplishments.”
Love was one of five who had won FHS Teacher of the Year honors in January. Other recipients were Eddie Courtney, varsity football head coach and physical education teacher; Brooke Montjoy, Special Education teacher (CDC-A); science teacher Nick Reynolds; and Spanish teacher Rebecca Whitehead.
This is just the latest honor for Love, a 28-year educator with Knox County Schools, who will now be considered for Teacher of the Year honors at the state level.
Late last year, Love was named Special Needs Art Educator of the Year for 2021 by the Tennessee Arts Education Association.
She also has earned six Outstanding Teacher Awards from the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts. In 2007, Love was named Teacher of the Year-Building Level, by the State Department of Education.
