Bill Taylor, a middle school teacher employed by Sevier County Schools, is the recipient of the 2009 Marian E. Oates Teacher Enrichment Award from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
The award provides a fellowship for professional development to the teacher selected. A gift from UT Knoxville alumna Marian Oates to the College of Arts and Sciences established the award.
Each spring the area school systems nominate a middle school science teacher for the Award.
Taylor teaches middle school at the Eugene Huskey Environmental Center in Pittman Center, where he has the unique assignment of teaching environmental science, including stream ecology, environmental stewardship and conservation of natural resources to every sixth-grade class in Sevier County. The classes visit for a two day, overnight stay during which they immerse themselves in learning about the environment and history of the area.
Taylor has been a teacher in Sevier County for eight years. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UT Knoxville and his educational specialist degree at Lincoln Memorial University. He is married and has a daughter who is a nurse at UT Medical Center and a son who recently received his master’s degree in marine biology from the University of Guam.
