Music center says BRAVO

Charlotte Smurthwaite, the choir director at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School, juggles three full-year choirs and two singing classes. Lisa Jenks, a second-grade teacher at Valley View Elementary School, introduces her students to artists like Andy Warhol during regular classroom instruction. And last year, David Huber, who was in his first year teaching theater classes at Hoover High School, directed two long one-act shows and three full-length plays.

For arts initiatives like these, Smurthwaite, Jenks and Huber have been nominated for 2008 BRAVO awards, which are given out by the Music Center of Los Angeles County.

Three BRAVO awards are given annually to recognize excellent arts instruction by one arts specialist teacher, one classroom teacher and one school in Los Angeles County.

“The nomination means that someone in that district has recognized that teacher as an exemplary arts educator,” said Faith Childs-Davis, manager of the BRAVO program at the music center.

This year, about 40 teachers and schools were nominated for BRAVO awards across the county.

After a teacher is nominated, they must submit a long, intensive application in order to complete their nomination, Childs-Davis said.

The applicant pool will be narrowed to about nine finalists in mid-November, and the three winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in February. The two winning teachers receive $4,000 each, and the winning school receives $10,000.

Huber was selected by his colleagues in the visual and performing arts department at Hoover to be the arts teacher nominee for the year, Principal Kevin Welsh said. It has been about eight years since Hoover has had a full-time theater arts program. Huber arrived at the school last year to help rebuild that program, and he generated student interest and ran several successful plays during his first year.

“Dave has created quite a buzz about theater arts and performance arts on campus,” Welsh said.

As part of his application, Huber submitted video footage from last year’s student performance of “The Grapes of Wrath,” which is not a common play for high school students to be performing, as well as the movie that students wrote, filmed and edited last year.

“It’s enough for me to be able to put on these plays,” Huber said. “I feel like this is kind of a big bonus.”

Smurthwaite was nominated by her principal, Richard Lucas, who commended her for her high standards and perfectionism.

“Our choir program is very good,” Lucas said. “She has been able to build her program over the years.”

Smurthwaite said her talent as a teacher resides in being able to sing well and teach middle school students to sing beautifully.

Valley View Elementary School Principal Carla Walker nominated Jenks for her ability to regularly bring arts education into her teaching of other subjects.

“She infuses the visual and performing arts on a daily basis in all subject areas,” Walker said.

The BRAVO program wants to honor teachers for their good work, but the music center hopes the application process is a learning experience for the teachers who apply, regardless of whether they win, Childs-Davis said.

Reflecting on his teaching to write his application was a useful exercise, Huber said.

“It’s long, but it’s a good process to go through for any teacher,” he said.