ACTE's National Work-Based Learning Conference 2026

Whether you’re looking to revamp, restructure, or realize your work-based learning (WBL) program, this session offers practical strategies and proven approaches for designing high-impact, sustainable WBL experiences. A panel of experienced practitioners will share their top tips for building internal capacity, fostering and sustaining meaningful stakeholder engagement, creating a shared vision for success, and developing a data plan that informs decision-making and drives improvement.
Presenters include Amanda Daniels (GPS Education Partners), who consults on scalable WBL and career readiness design; Jason Van Nus, an innovator in high school WBL known for his business partner engagement strategies; and Kristy Volesky, an expert in internship implementation and data strategy. Additional experts are expected to join this dynamic panel, which is geared toward K–12 and post-secondary WBL leaders seeking concrete actions to elevate their programs.

Join education innovators Kristy Volesky and Scott Carr as they reveal a transformative approach to work-based learning that moves beyond isolated programs to create comprehensive educational ecosystems. This session unpacks the essential mindset shifts and structural changes needed to authentically connect students with opportunities that build social capital and economic mobility.
Participants will engage in guided assessment activities to identify barriers in their current systems and discover strategic solutions applicable to diverse educational settings. Through facilitated discussion and practical application exercises, attendees will explore customized implementation roadmaps addressing both cultural and structural challenges leading to practical work-based learning opportunities for students..
School leaders, CTE coordinators, and WBL professionals will leave with practical understandings that include an awareness of a culture-building framework, partnership development strategies, and implementation approaches that can be immediately applied to create meaningful work-based learning experiences that genuinely prepare students for future success.

Discover how the Student-Led Agency model transforms work-based learning into a cross-curricular framework that unites multiple pathways and clusters in both secondary and postsecondary institutions. By connecting students with businesses to solve real-world challenges, this model empowers CTE departments to operate as thriving service providers for their communities while equipping learners with invaluable 21st-century skills.


Participants will explore strategies for scaling engagement, strengthening partnerships, and aligning diverse programs around a common vision of universal access to work-based learning. Attendees will benefit from practical tools to replicate this approach in their own classrooms and institutions, regardless of discipline.


Through interactive discussion and activities, educators, administrators, and workforce partners will experience firsthand how to build sustainable systems that expand opportunity. Deliverables include a digital toolkit with planning templates, partnership resources, and access to sample structures that support the design and management of impactful, industry-connected work-based learning initiatives.

Here is my session presentation: Scaling Access: Universal Engagement in Work-Based Learning

This session highlights how the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) is developing, implementing, and scaling a comprehensive work-based learning (WBL) policy to support equitable student access and stronger employer partnerships. Attendees will learn how CCRI built faculty engagement, aligned WBL to academic outcomes, and created policies to sustain and expand experiential learning opportunities. The session is designed for CTE leaders, teachers/faculty, and policymakers seeking to embed WBL in their institutional strategy. Through an interactive case study, participants will explore lessons learned from CCRI’s WBL model, review WBL scaling strategies, and reflect on how to apply these practices within their own institutions. Resources provided include a slide deck and handout outlining CCRI’s WBL framework and planning tools to guide replication.

This study examines high school students that take California Community College (CCC) courses that embed work-based learning (WBL) activities. Drawing on transcript data from the full population of California high school students who enrolled in a CCC course with a WBL component, we examine the types of WBL components offered, the subject areas in which they appear, and the demographic patterns of participating students. Our findings speak directly to community college leaders seeking to strengthen and expand opportunities for high school students. By identifying which courses are most likely to integrate WBL effectively, this research can help administrators make strategic decisions about program design.


We also provide a case study on one community college district that has excelled at implementing WBL and participants will learn the institutional support needed for greater WBL adoption.