PICTURES TEACH THOUSAND WORDS.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer

CASTAIC - Along with reading, writing and arithmetic, there is a special recipe for learning in Wendy Boyd's classroom.

The Castaic Elementary School teacher makes sure lessons come with a twist of color, a pinch of a picture and a dash of a drawing. She makes sure they include art.

``Rather than doing traditional cut and paste, I revel in the fact that children will use their imagination,'' Boyd said. ``Students will draw and use what they see in science and in math and in language.''

Boyd has been nominated for a Bravo Award, given annually by the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County to recognize teachers and schools for outstanding use of art in classrooms.

``Education is a positive and fulfilling experience, especially when it is integrated with the arts,'' Boyd said. ``It builds self esteem.''

The 44-year-old Valencia resident, who has been teaching for 13 years, was inspired to bring art into her classroom after she took courses from the Getty Center and the Southwest Museum.

``The Getty training really inspired me to bring art into the classroom,'' Boyd said. ``We went to every possible museum in Los Angeles.''

Several years ago she received a $14,000 grant to develop art portfolios, with projects such as the art boxes now on display at the school. While art now fits naturally into the kindergarten lessons, she said the approach takes time for a teacher to learn.

``It's really a process,'' Boyd said. ``It takes a long time to apply.''

It's worth the time, Boyd believes.

``You can work magic with kindergartners with directive drawings,'' Boyd said. ``They can get so highly motivated.''

The Bravo Award was established by the Education Division of the Performing Arts Center in 1982 to recognize teachers and schools using arts to revitalize teaching, to strengthen student achievement and creativity, and to foster sel-esteem, teamwork and cross-cultural communication and understanding.

Presented to schools and teachers, the Bravo Award is the only one in California recognizing educators and schools for excellence in all of the arts disciplines.

This year 63 teachers and 10 schools were nominated.

From December through February, a panel of judges will visit each school and evaluate each nominee.

Ten finalists will be profiled in separate videos shown in February at a gala dinner at the Regal Biltmore Hotel, where winners will be announced.

The winning school will receive $5,000 and winning teachers $2,000 each. A special achievement award of $1,500 will also be presented.

``We're very proud and excited that one of our teachers has been nominated for a nationally recognized award,'' said Castaic Elementary Principal Rhonda Steinberg. ``Wendy is very, very talented in the arts. Her enthusiasm is able to bring that to our entire kindergarten team.

``Some of the projects our kindergartners do are just so amazing,'' Steinberg said.

``It's important to tie arts into academics,'' she said, ``because sometimes we lose that.''

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(color) Some Castaic kindergartners sit with teacher Wendy Boyd, a Bravo Award nominee for outstanding use of art in classes.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News