Chamber Names Teachers of Year

Two teachers who use art, computers and drama to complement math, social studies and writing have become the Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce’s teachers of the year for the 1996-97 school year.

Taking home the honors are Barbara Kitchens, a third-grade teacher at Park Oaks Elementary, and Patti Rea, a second-grade teacher at the private Carden Conejo School.

This is the first year a private school teacher has been honored, according to the chamber’s Greg Galloway. The two winners were picked from a field of teachers of the month.

Kitchens is known around Park Oaks for mixing arts and the basics. She helped start the Conejo Valley Unified School District’s “Focus on the Arts” program, in which students sculpt clay, write plays and even sew quilts.

A 20-year veteran of the district, Kitchens said she wants to make sure her students learn to create and appreciate the arts.

“I want my students to know that even if they may not experience art in other classrooms, it is important and it does have value,” she said.

“There are ways of expressing yourself other than speaking and writing. There’s the whole visual element.”

A teacher for 23 years, Rea brings vigor and hands-on learning to the classroom. A frequent traveler, she brings slides and artifacts back to her students after a trip. She also organizes two class plays a year.