The Sacramento County Board of Education has designated February 2007 as "Career Technical Education Month" in Sacramento County.
The commemoration was proclaimed by the Association for Career and Technical Education
(ACTE). The month is designed to promote education that prepares students to enter the workforce. ACTE is the largest national education association dedicated to the advancement of career education.
Career technical education is about helping students, workers and lifelong learners realize their working potential. It prepares students for post-secondary education programs and a wide variety of careers. The Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) is a regional leader in providing career technical education to high school students and adults.
"Many studies have confirmed the positive effect career technical education has on motivating students, keeping them in school, and preparing them for the future," said David W. Gordon, Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools. "High-level career technical education programs can open doors for many students."
SCOE provides wide-ranging educational training in career preparation through the Regional Occupational Program (ROP), which serves more than 14,000 students each year in over 60 different program areas.
ROP offers tuition-free career preparation training in occupational areas including automotive, construction, office computer skills, computer technology training, health occupations (such as nurse assistant, dental assistant, chiropractic assistant, EMT), retail sales, and child development.
Many of the available ROP courses offer "on-the-job" internships at employer job sites in addition to classroom training.
ROP partners include Sacramento-area employers, Los Rios Community College District, the Sacramento Employment and Training Agency (SETA), the Sacramento Metro Chamber, and Linking Education and Economic Development (LEED).
For more information on SCOE career technical education programs, call (916) 228-2721.