TEACHERS GARNER HONORS.

Byline: Lee Condon Daily News Staff Writer

Named as one of Los Angeles County's 12 teachers of the year Tuesday, Ingrid Boydston said that when she was growing up she never even thought about becoming a teacher. Her goal was to become an actress.

``It happened by accident,'' Boydston explained. ``I only started teaching as a substitute to earn money. I truly fell in love with it.''

Ten years later, the Santa Clarita Elementary teacher's love for her work has helped put her in the company of a dozen exemplary county educators, who will now compete with teachers from other counties for the California Teacher of the Year award.

Also among the top teachers named by the Los Angeles County Office of Education were: John K. Bartke from Little Rock High School in the Antelope Valley Union High School District; Wesley Thomas from Joe Walker Middle School, Westside Union School District; and Jo Anne Koch, from the Clark Science and Technology Magnet High School in the Glendale Unified School District.

All 12 of the county winners go on to the state competition.

None of this year's county honorees teaches in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation's second largest.

Just two nominees were forwarded this year from the LAUSD, said Rick de la Torre, a spokesman for the district. The Office of Education sends the appropriate application materials to the LAUSD superintendent and also to cluster leaders. It is up to them to work with individual schools to pick nominees, de la Torre said.

Since 1994, when the LAUSD fielded six nominees, LAUSD clusters have only fielded one or two candidates a year. Overall, the LAUSD is eligible to field as many as 30 nominees, de la Torre said.

The last time LAUSD had a winner in the top 12 was 1993, when two LAUSD teachers won the honor, he said.

For those county teachers who were chosen, the title is a career thrill.

``It's like all my dreams are coming true,'' said Boydston, 33, who put aside her acting career goal and signed on as a fifth- and sixth-grade teacher a decade ago.

She's still acting through her involvement in the Canyon Theatre Guild in Newhall, frequently getting her young pupils involved in her community theater projects.

Bartke, 46, started his teaching career eight years ago, giving up his previous profession as an Eastern Orthodox priest. Bartke has three master's degrees, in history, education and theology, and has served as a master and a mentor teacher. He teaches American literature and American history at Little Rock High.

``I love learning and I love people. Without either of one of those, you could never make a good teacher,'' Bartke said. ``There's so much joy in knowing students are growing in their knowledge.''

Koch, a 24-year veteran of the Glendale Unified School District, said her job as a teacher of the year is to represent all of the educators in her district in the state competition.

``There are excellent teachers all over this district,'' said Koch, who teaches math.

After years of teaching at Hoover High School, Koch transferred this fall to Glendale Unified's Science and Technology Magnet School, which opened earlier this month.

``For 16 years I've been trying to get technology going at the schools,'' Koch said. ``The magnet school is wonderful.''

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PHOTO Jo Anne Koch of the Glendale Unified School District gets a congratulatory hug after being named a teacher of the year Tuesday.

Tom Mendoza/Daily News