Submitted By: North Orange County ROP

Student Background

Katie Bell was a student at Los Alamitos High School. She enrolled in ROP’s Child Development class and continued on the career pathway by enrolling in Careers with Children. Both classes were taught by Kathleen Rea.

Program Description

Child Development is a comprehensive study of developmental stages of children from conception through early adolescence, including the major theories of development and their application. Focus is on emotional/psychological, cognitive, and physical development, and on the influence of heredity and environmental factors. Included are theories of multiple intelligence and current brain research.

Careers with Children provides training for employment in infant/child care centers, preschools, and school age child care programs. Training occurs through classroom instruction and participation in laboratory preschool/child care programs. Educational workshops are provided for students in an effort to develop quality teachers of young children in a continuous, responsive, interactive process. Focus is on experiential learning and developmentally appropriate practices.

Outcomes

While attending high school, Katie was hired to work part-time in the field as a princess for children’s birthday parties. Besides looking and acting like a princess, this job requires Katie to effectively communicate with children of multiple ages and engage them in activities. She enjoys the job and believes that her method of affirming and interacting with the kids is beneficial to them and their self-esteem. Through this job, Katie is gaining additional experience towards her long-term goal of becoming an elementary or special education teacher.