At E. L. Wright Middle School in Columbia, language arts teacher Malinda Taylor is committed to success for each of her students. Her technology-integrated curriculum provides opportunities for authentic research and writing tasks; for example, Ms. Taylor's students produce a children's book each year and correspond by e-mail with students from other schools. She organized a summer school for at-risk students, and coordinates the district's STAR (Students Achieving and Reading) transitional summer program. Active in professional development and committee work, Ms. Taylor currently chairs the school's Strategic Planning Committee. As an expert on middle-level schooling and teacher recruitment, she has held various research and consulting positions, including work with ProTeam, a state-level recruitment program that targets middle-school minority students.
1980 South Carolina State College, B.S.
