North Orange County Regional Occupational Program (ROP) annually provides local market-driven career technical education to more than 23,000 high school and adult students in 15 cities in north Orange County. The WASC-accredited and California Department of Education-approved program holds classes in 23 high schools and five satellite locations. Specified classes articulate with local colleges to provide successful students with advanced placement and/or credits at the colleges. North Orange County ROP was created by a joint powers agreement among five school districts: Anaheim Union High School District; Fullerton Joint Union High School District, and Brea Olinda, Los Alamitos and Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School Districts. North Orange County ROP is one of 75 regional occupational centers and programs in the state, and is part of the public school system.

Founded by then-Governor Ronald Reagan to provide work-ready employees to California business in 1967, regional occupational programs came to Orange County in 1971. There are four ROPs in the county, and together, all four provide career technical education to more than 60,000 students annually.

Here's a really interesting fact: Anaheim native and astronaut Joe Acaba credits (at least in part) his selection to the team that blasted into space March 16, 2009, to perform repairs on the international space station to his experience in his ROP Metal Fabrication class at Esperanza High School from 1984 to 1985. Joe dropped by Dennis Walter's ROP welding classroom after his selection to the team in 2004, and told Dennis the interviewers asked him several questions about his welding experience.