$130,000 TO AID SCHOOLS IN AREA; GRANTS TO FINANCE WORK PROGRAMS.

Byline: Paul O'Donoghue Daily News Staff Writer

Local schools have received about $130,000 in federal grants to fund work experience and other programs aimed at increasing students' marketability when they graduate.

The money is part of $1 million awarded recently to Moorpark and five other Ventura County high schools, as well as the middle and elementary schools they draw from, and Moorpark Community College, officials said.

Moorpark High School, which received $50,300, will use the money to set up two ``academies'' that will allow students to experience studies in fields of their choice, and specialize in those subjects if they wish, said Assistant Principal Mike Agnitch.

``We're sort of a model site,'' said Agnitch, referring to the fact that the school already has two academies - in health sciences and business - that allow students to gain work experience and specialize in related subjects beginning in the 10th grade.

With the grant money, Moorpark will be able to set up two academies in areas such as teaching, arts and communications; and engineering and technology, and buy equipment, books and employ coordinators to oversee the programs, Agnitch said.

The school is still deciding which academies will be chosen with the grant money, and officials hope to have the new programs ready by September.

Under the four-year federal program, five different high schools and one community college will be chosen in the county annually to share the $1 million grant.

The Ventura County Superintendent of Education's Office oversees allocation of the grant and looked at applications from 11 high schools in the county. The superintendent's office recommended the winners to the executive committee of the Ventura County School-to-Career Network, a panel composed of representatives of business, labor and education in the county, said Anthony Michaelides, of the superintendent's office.

As part of the grant, Mesa Verde and Chaparral Middle Schools have each received $6,000; and the city's elementary schools have each received about $3,000, officials said.

Moorpark Community College has also received about $50,000, said Michaelides.

Agnitch said data showed that students who have participated in Moorpark High's health sciences academy have shown ``improved attendance, grades and fewer discipline problems (than other students).''

Other schools in the county that have received money in this round are Buena Park High School, Oxnard High School, Nordhoff High School and Fillmore High School.