5 WIN $10,000 PRIZES AS INSPIRING TEACHERS.

Byline: Krystn Shrieve Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY - Miriam Ritchey, a fourth-grade teacher at St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School in Thousand Oaks, brings history to life for her students by taking them on field trips where they can see how people lived in the past.

Her students visited the Olivas Adobe in Ventura, where they made tortillas and adobe bricks. They also went to a musical at Ventura High School to absorb some Gold Rush atmosphere, and soon they will take a train trip to San Juan Capistrano to learn about life at a mission.

``It's important for the students to have an understanding and appreciation of the past, and it's nice to be able to show them things here in our own back yard,'' said Ritchey, who has been teaching for 19 years. ``I really like teaching everything, but my favorite is history, and I think that really comes through for the students.''

Ritchey is one of five local teachers honored Wednesday by Amgen, the largest private-enterprise employer in Ventura County, in the company's annual Award for Teacher Excellence program. A $10,000 award accompanies the honor.

The five were cited for various efforts to enliven studies, help gang members change their lives through education and culturally enrich fellow educators' knowledge.

Other winners were Betsy Potts, a 12th-grade English teacher at La Reina High, a Catholic girls school in Thousand Oaks; Javier Gomez, who teaches bilingual social studies, math and video journalism at Haydock Intermediate School in Oxnard; Jerome Gooch, who teaches high school students at Gateway Community in Camarillo; and Aleta Lepper, who teaches children in fourth and fifth grades at Lincoln Elementary School in Ventura.

Ritchey's love of history came through for fourth-grader Matthew Nidetz, who said it became his favorite subject, too.

``We've studied the Gold Rush, how California became a state and all about the missions,'' 10-year-old Matthew said. ``We went to the Olivas Ranch, and they taught us how to make tortillas. You mix flour and other stuff and press it in the press, and it flattens out so you can cook it. They tasted really old-fashioned.''

The winners were chosen from 463 teachers nominated by 1,000 letter writers in Ventura County and surrounding communities. The $10,000 prize from the Amgen Foundation can be used as each winner chooses.

``I just sit in awe of these teachers,'' said Charron Smith, a spokeswoman for Amgen, ``and this is a collective thank you from all our staff members. It's our way of giving back to teachers, letting them know how important they are in our lives.''

Potts, who has been teaching for 28 years, said she plans to use at least some of the money toward scholarship programs at La Reina High. She was honored for her unique approaches in teaching literature.

``You try to be prescriptive for each class,'' Potts said. ``One class may get it, and another may not, so I spend just as much time thinking how to deal with that as I do grading papers.''

Sometimes she has her students work in groups. Sometimes the material is learned with help of teacher-led discussions or debates. Sometimes more is learned by acting out scenes in the literature.

``I just have to 'read' the audience and see what the class needs that day,'' Potts said. ``The first line of attack is comprehension. The piece of work drives us. We have to understand what is being said.''

Senior Laura Ingman, who was in Potts' classes as a freshman and again as a senior, said she doubts she will ever have a college professor so capable of inspiring students to keep working until they understand.

``She cares so much about her students,'' 17-year-old Ingman said. ``She cares that we understand. She's such a dynamic person.

``She loves what she teaches us. We're always going back and forth about what something means. When I was a freshman I was absent and missed an in-class assignment. I didn't have to, but I decided to do it at home. I don't think I would have done that for another teacher.''

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Photo: (color) Miriam Ritchey of St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School in Thousand Oaks is one of five winners this year of Amgen prizes for teaching.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News