ROP 10th Annual Career Portfolio Showcase—Career & College Ready!

High school students’ educational opportunities and work experiences lay the groundwork for career choices that will shape the rest of their lives. Most students must look for jobs as soon as they graduate whether they enter the labor force full time or work to fund college and technical training. SCCOE’s Regional Occupational Program starts as early as middle school to engage students in thinking seriously about the career paths that can open for them if they study hard and make strategic plans for their futures. It offers hundreds of courses throughout the county that prepare students for careers and motivate them to excel in high school and in higher education.

On May 20th, ROP Director R. Rieber presided over the 10th Annual ROP Career Portfolio Showcase at Harbor High School. The event concludes the ROP Portfolio Contest, a competition that allows students to vie for scholarships and prizes by entering portfolios that display the results of their career technical education classes. Portfolios must include a resume, a sample job application letter, professional and personal references, and evidence of a job search. Winning portfolios demonstrate that students have excelled at classroom projects, developed successful entrepreneurial enterprises, or been outstanding interns. Students personalize their portfolios with original cover designs, unique formats, and inclusion of CDs and DVDs illustrating class projects and job activities.

ROP’s Sharon Clapman reviews portfolios at Harbor High.

This year, more than 800 students competed for $1,400 in prize money, with awards going to Adrianna Serratos, Skylar Merritt, Rodrigo Molina, Laurel Ebert, Alexandra Sherrill, Rosie Lebow, and Michelle McCallum. Winners were selected based on the quality of their portfolios and results of a rigorous job interview. (For a list of awardees, see the 10th Annual Career Portfolio Showcase Program.) Special thanks to Scholarship Donors John Dierolf Insurance Agency, Lloyd’s Tires, Palace Art & Office Supply, Alice Talnack, Dell Williams, and an anonymous former ROP Administration of Justice student.

The County Office of Education congratulates ROP Director Rieber on his retirement from 40 years of service in public education. Under Rieber’s leadership, ROP has transitioned to greater emphasis on A-G aligned courses, stronger partnerships with Cabrillo College, new career pathways and courses, outreach to middle schools, and expanded facilities. ROP Assistant Director Bryan Wall will become ROP Director in July 2008.

Incoming Director Bryan Wall and retiring Director Rieber

See the Portfolio program with the list of participating students.

About ROP

In 2007-08, ROP offered 3,500 county students 100 sections of 45 courses focused on six career pathways: agriculture and natural resources; arts and communication; marketing and information systems; engineering and industrial technology; home, health, and recreation; and social, human, and governmental services. For some students, courses are part of a Career Academy, a sequence of courses that extends throughout high school in areas such as Construction and Engineering and Public Safety and Emergency Services. Courses are developed in response to opportunities in local job markets, including courses such as marketing, photography, videography, web design, culinary arts, interior design, fashion design, green careers, and medical and dental assisting. Engagement in ROP courses can be the deciding factor for staying in school and graduating. As one student reported on a class evaluation, “I really enjoyed everything about this class. Everyday I look forward to going to school.”