CONEJO SCHOOLS TOPS ON VENTURA COUNTY LIST.

Byline: Amy Raisin Staff Writer

Valley elementary schools earned six of Ventura County's 10 highest Academic Performance Index scores, while a Simi Valley school jumped an impressive 117 points - the third-biggest jump in the county, figures released Wednesday show.

Conejo School, the area's most improved school with an 82-point jump, earned an API score of 642 - the lowest in the Conejo Valley Unified School District but easily the most impressive nestled among scores in the high 800s.

t was hard work,'' said Larry Birdsell, principal at the elementary school, where 43 percent of the students study English as a second language. ``We have a higher rate of kids coming and going, of economically disadvantaged kids, so, yes. I think our battle is a bit different.

``But I expect our school to be at 800,'' he said. ``That's what the state says and that's where we're going to be.''

Birdsell said his school achieved results by additional tutoring, a computer reading program and increased teacher training.

Los Cerritos Middle School and Redwood Intermediate were the only Conejo Valley schools that did not improve, both going down at least 20 points.

Simi Valley's Mountain View Elementary improved 117 points to 726, a move that Principal Denise Vale said was a combined effort among the kids, teachers and other staffers.

Both Santa Susana and Simi Valley high schools failed to meet their 5 percent growth targets, with Santa Susana missing by just one point.

Chuck Weis, Ventura County superintendent of schools, said he was pleased with the county's numbers, noting that 78 percent of the schools met or exceeded their growth targets.

``They're doing fantastic,'' said Weis. ``The schools have taken this seriously, the kids have taken the test seriously. I expect we'll continue to improve.''

The state has $227 million set aside for API awards, plus an additional $350 million for teacher awards, said officials from the California Department of Education. It is still unclear how the money will be divided on Dec. 7.

The 12 comprehensive schools in the Las Virgenes Unified School District all earned scores above 800, with an average of nearly 855. And in neighboring Oak Park Unified, all five schools scored more than 830 points.

Moorpark Unified schools met or exceeded their target growths, except for Mountain Meadows Elementary, which again scored 755. Peach Hill Elementary improved 66 points, while Flory Elementary is correcting some data and will release its numbers in December.