CVHS Honored with Bravo Award
On Tuesday evening, March 1, Crescenta Valley High School was honored with a Music Center Bravo Award for the school’s visual arts and performing arts programs.
Three Bravo awards are presented annually to honor educators and schools for excellence in all of the arts disciplines. This year, Crescenta Valley High School shares the school award with Viewpoint School in Calabasas. The two schools split the $10,000 prize donated by Robinsons-May. Theatre teacher Karen Teeter of John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley won the arts specialist award and Cathy Paulson of Tulsa Street Elementary School in Granada Hills won the generalist award. Each teacher received a cash prize of $4,000.
This is the first time that Crescenta Valley High School entered the competition. Preparing the application took almost a year, with teachers in all of the visual and performing arts programs contributing.
The school offers a variety of classes that fall under the categories of visual and performing art including drama, instrumental and vocal music, ceramics and drawing. These classes are just part of the consideration process, however. According to Co-Principal Linda Evans, art education and appreciation are incorporated throughout the curriculum. Though the school enters, and wins, many prestigious competitions, the Music Center’s Bravo Award is especially rewarding. “The community should be proud of what the teachers and students achieved in the performing and visual arts,” Evans said. “We’ve been recognized as No. 1 among all schools in the Los Angeles County, both public and private. This is truly an achievement.”
The ceremony was held in the Crystal Ballroom of the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. The gala, attended my more than 800 people, was emceed by producer and director Garry Marshall.
The Music Center’s Education Division established the Bravo Awards in 1983 to recognize teachers and schools for creativity, innovation and excellence in arts education. This year, 82 nominee applications were received (28 nominated schools and 54 nominated teachers).
After reviewing the applications, a panel of judges chose finalists from the categories and made on-site classroom visits to determine the Bravo Award winners. The winners were announced at the annual Bravo Gala, supported by the Music Center’s Club 100.