¶ … 2006 report showed that Regional Occupational Centers and Programs (ROCP) were effective in a number of ways; primarily assisting students who might not otherwise feel the desire to continue their education. The report showed the "importance of underlying competencies such as motivation, self-awareness, eagerness to learn and the ability to reflect upon, monitor and guide ones' learning and practice" (Curry, Johnson, Mathias, 2006, p. 22). That ROCP's are conducive to enhanced educational endeavors can be considered a foregone conclusion in some regards, but that does not mean that the great state of California has, or can make available, the funds necessary to continue these effective programs. In fact, last year funding for educational programs in California were slashed by 20% across the board, including the ROCP's which some experts believe are the most effective programs in the state.
Funding for the ROCP's is deemed important by many of the school districts in California as one report recently determined that "most school districts are working hard to maintain the ROCP classes despite the current...
29). Another factor for funding that has to be considered is the number of students affected; the California Board of Education website states "approximately 470,000 students enroll in ROCP's each year" (ROCP, 2013). That's a lot of students taking advantage of the benefits of the ROCP's. California seems to recognize the advantages of this program though because (again according to the website) "ROCP's provide rigorous and high quality programs which contribute to student's academic and career achievement which, in turn, support the economic development of the state" (ROCP, 2013).
Another study showed that "high school graduates who completed career-technical Regional Occupational courses while still in high school earned higher wages in general than similar high school graduates who did not take these courses " (Adler, 2007, p. 35).
Funding the ROCP's therefore seems to make a lot of sense. There are a number of outstanding ROCP's in California and they are normally structured in one of three ways; 1) school districts participating in a county…
Personal Observations: Class Size vs. Quality Instruction I am not able to neatly separate my preparation and reading in the area of educational quality from my personal experience. The two sources of knowledge dovetail and flow back and forth in a highly influential manner. I certainly agree that class size is a factor in student success, and a variable that can enable or hinder the ease with which a teacher provides