OC HIGH / STUDENT NEWS & VIEWS : TRAINING FOR THE FUTURE

Someday, Mary Kathryn Parker would like to become a kindergarten teacher. Already the 17-year-old senior at Brea Olinda High School is learning important job skills and work habits to help her in a teaching career, all while receiving high school credit.

“It’s a steppingstone for me,” said Parker, who is enrolled in a preschool assistant course. “My experience and time working with children has helped me decide that this is what I want to do with the rest of my life.”

Parker is in the Regional Occupational Program, which enables participants to receive vocational education, complete high school or receive advanced placement credits for college without paying tuition if they are high school students. This year, adults are required to pay a $40 registration fee because of budget cutbacks in education.

An equal opportunity employer and educator, ROP is open to high school students and adults, with enrollment on a first-come, first-served basis, although priority is given to high school students.

There are four ROP offices in Orange County that handle different geographical areas: the North Orange County ROP, Central County ROP; Coastline ROP and Capistrano, Laguna Beach ROP. “The purpose of ROP for high school students and some adult students is to provide them (with) skills to get their first entry-level job,” said Thomas Kurtz, superintendent of North Orange County ROP. Last year, the North Orange County ROP served more than 28,000 students; slightly more than half were high school students.

“Primarily, it’s funded by the State Department of Education, much like other schools, based upon the number of hours students attend,” Kurtz said. The program is accredited by the Western Assn. of Schools and Colleges.

“Sometimes people think--wrongly--that the students have to meet certain (academic) criteria, and that’s absolutely not true,” Kurtz said. “Our students range from the very highest, gifted students to those who are mentally challenged.”

Among the wide variety of courses are those associated with occupations in agriculture, automotive and motorcycles, banking and financing, building trades, business, child relations, communications, drafting, education, electronics, entertainment, parks and tourism, fashion industry, graphics and printing, health, maintenance and repair, and manufacturing and retail trades.

To register for courses, students are advised to contact their high school career guidance specialist or visit an ROP office before semesters begin in the fall, spring and summer. Students can enroll late if there is space available.

“We have long adult waiting lists,” said Pat Hansmeyer, community relations specialist for the North Orange County ROP. “It’s good (for students) to get in there early.”

Typically, ROP offers three programs, according Hansmeyer. The first takes place solely within the classroom.

The second takes place in “community classrooms,” with local business and industries providing on-the-job training without pay. Students can choose from more than 950 community classroom sites in the North Orange County ROP region alone. “In the community classroom . . . you learn on the job and in the classroom,” Hansmeyer said.

Trudy Klein, the ROP instructor for the preschool-assistant course offered at Brea Olinda, Sonora and Troy high schools, said many students take the same course for more than one semester.

“Last year, Mary Kathryn (Parker) volunteered as an ROP student (at a local preschool). She was hired over the summer as an aide, then she returned this year for her certificate.” The certificate will enable Parker to receive credits at local community colleges.

Parker is in the process of completing the required number of hours in her community classroom at Brea Olinda Friends Preschool. In addition to work in community classrooms, “students (such as Parker) come to a workshop once a week for the cognitive part of the course,” Klein said.

Karen Wright, 17, also a senior at Brea Olinda High School, is enrolled in the Recreational Leadership course.

“It’s a class for students to learn how to build a group,” Wright said. “It’s concentrated in therapeutic and outdoor activities with children.” Leadership areas that are developed within the course are self-awareness, trust of other people, communication and knowledge of others.

Students enrolled in this course are required each week to attend a 2 1/2-hour class and perform 2 1/2 hours of service in a community classroom setting. Wright volunteers at the Crippled Children’s Society, while some of her classmates serve at the YMCA or at a therapeutic theater group. At the end of the semester, Wright and her classmates will serve as counselors or recreational leaders in the Outdoor Education Program, a camp for elementary school students.

The third method of ROP education, Cooperative Vocational Education, combines classroom instruction and employer-paid, on-the-job-training. The student works a normal work shift, learns skills on the job and attends a class once a week.

While job availability depends on economic conditions and industry trends, CVE courses are usually available in amusement and entertainment fields, the auto industry, banking, preschool teaching and education, hotels and offices, plumbing, recreational leadership and retail.

“This particular method,” Hansmeyer noted, “is supported by classroom training once a week.”

“Each class,” Hansmeyer added, “has in it a section on how to fill out an application and how to do job interviews, so that you can feel more comfortable when you do go for your first interview.”

Hansmeyer emphasized that ROP helps participants determine what career path they want to pursue.

“The really exciting thing about ROP is that no matter if you’re going to go to college or even if you’re not, ROP will train you for skills that are practical, that you need to have on the first day of the job. And it saves you from having to learn those skills as you go along.”

As a student, Wright shares the sentiment. “It’s rewarding to have the opportunity to work in different occupations, because when in your life are you going to get the chance to experiment like that? It’s a good opportunity to explore what’s out there.”

ROP can lead to job placement and advancement, Klein said. “This program is the beginning of the career ladder. It provides entry-level experience and encourages upward mobility.”

And aside from the assistance ROP offers in assessing one’s career interests, there are other rewards. For instance, said Klein, while educating future mothers and fathers about child care is not the primary goal or focus of the preschool-assistant class, it is a byproduct.

How to Contact a Nearby ROP Office

There are four Regional Occupation Program offices in Orange County. Each handles a different geographical area tied to school district boundaries.

Coastline ROP

(714) 979-1955 Covers Costa Mesa, Corona del Mar, El Toro, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Hills, Lake Forest, most of Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, Tustin and Westminster.

Central County ROP

(714) 541-5537 Covers Orange, Santa Ana and Garden Grove.

North Orange County ROP

(714) 776-7292 Covers Anaheim, Brea, Buena Park, Cypress, Fullerton, La Habra, La Habra Heights, La Mirada, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Placentia, Seal Beach, Stanton, Yorba Linda and Whittier.

Capistrano/Laguna Beach ROP

(714) 496-3118 Covers Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, South Laguna, San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente., Dove Canyon, Capistrano Beach, and portions of Rancho Santa Margarita Mission Viejo, Coto de Caza.