Andrey Gurov and Laci Lovisone form Mrs. Currier and Mrs. French's kindergarten class at Lower Lake Elementary School in Lower Lake, Calif., with Lower Lake High student Bailey Serpa from Mrs. Inman's ROP Careers with Children class. Courtesy photo.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Each of the five school districts in Lake County offer Regional Occupational Programs known as ROPs.

These classes serve as the capstone in a series of Career Technical Education courses meant to teach students career ready skills.

On Friday, Oct. 28, ROP classes from two districts worked together to provide a great learning opportunity for Lower Lake Elementary kindergartners.

Lower Lake High School offers a ROP class called Careers with Children. Advanced students participate in a practicum class that allows them to serve as helpers in classrooms at Lower Lake Elementary.

On Oct. 28, eight of the high school students experienced the challenges of taking over 100 kindergartners on a field trip. Each high school student assisted a group of elementary students including riding the bus and wearing matching hand-painted shirts.

Their destination was to visit the Middletown High School pumpkin patch put on by the ROP Agriculture department.

Students from Middletown High School hosted more than 700 elementary students from across the county over a six-day period.

High school students manned a variety of action packed stations including a haunted house, bucking barrel, face painting, roping, painting trick or treat cans, making ghosts, petting goats and picking out their very own pumpkin.

Middletown has been hosting this event at the school farm for the last five years. All proceeds collected go directly to the school farm and agriculture program.

For more information on either of the high school programs, please contact the Lake County Office of Education Regional Occupational Program at 707-262-4164 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..