LAS VIRGENES TEACHER AMONG AWARD FINALISTS.

Byline: Alex Roth and Sonia Giordani Daily News Staff Writers

Three Los Angeles County teachers were honored in Sacramento on Friday as state finalists in the 1998 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching Program.

Enid Stagg of the Las Virgenes Unified School District and Darshana Shah and Diana Takenaga-Taga of the Los Angeles Unified School District received $750 grants each and certificates of commendation from the California Department of Education.

``These teachers were recognized for their ability to engage students in learning through hands-on activities and to foster students' curiosity in science and math,'' said Robert Lee, who coordinates the program in the state.

In her nine years at Willow Elementary School, third-grade teacher Stagg has earned a reputation as a top-notch math teacher. Her annual Family Math Night brings kids and their parents together for a workshop that allows families to use their teamwork to figure out tough word problems.

In the classroom, Stagg's propensity for incorporating games into daily math lessons keeps students interested, said Parent-Faculty Association President Julie Bluestein, whose two children were in Stagg's class.

``She is the kind of teacher who could take the lessons beyond what is expected and really relate it to the kids' life. I remember one homework assignment asked students to find geometric shapes in their homes and my kids were noticing the patterns on the counter tops and on the tiles on the floor for the first time,'' Bluestein said.

Shah has been teaching sixth- and seventh-grade science at Tarzana's Portola Middle School, which has a magnet for highly gifted students, for the past 10 years.

Rachel Stern, 12, a seventh-grade magnet student, said Shah lets them perform hands-on experiments such as dissecting fetal pigs to take biology lessons a step beyond textbook learning. For those who don't have the stomach for the real stuff, Shah makes available a ``virtual dissection'' using an Internet site for their convenience, Stern said.

Among other things, Shah has worked with Amgen Inc., the Thousand Oaks biotech company, to create an annual science program in genetic engineering. The students get to perform DNA and other genetic experiments using borrowed equipment worth $30,000 to $40,000.

Takenaga-Taga, an elementary school teacher at the Windsor Hills Math/Science/Aerospace Magnet School in Los Angeles, also was selected as a finalist.

In addition to the state honor, the trio will be considered for four national-level Presidential Awards and could earn up to $7,500 in grant money for their schools. That award will be announced this fall.