ACTE's National Work-Based Learning Conference 2026

Ready to reel in amazing community and industry partners? In this fast-paced, 25-minute session, we’ll show you how to cast your line with confidence—cold calling, connecting, and marketing your school or program’s needs to attract the right collaborators. Using a “catch and release” approach, you’ll see examples, learn best practices, and explore proven strategies for establishing authentic connections, then have a moment to try out your ideas in real time. You’ll leave with a toolkit packed with cold call/email scripts, a partnership prospecting “fishing map,” tips for establishing relationships, and curated resources to keep your network growing. This session is perfect for educators, work-based learning coordinators, and administrators ready to hook meaningful partnerships that expand student career exploration and skill development.

This session will showcase a fun, age-appropriate way to introduce elementary students to careers during a Career Week.  Participates will explore how we took our career week from 1 school to 34 schools in just 3 short years, with a team of 1!
The focus will be on showcasing the Dare to Dream Career week which is a developmentally appropriate, interactive, and inspiring career exploration activity for all elementary schools.


This session is appropriate for anyone who oversees Elementary career exploration or work-based learning, or helps to make decisions around Elementary content.


The Dare to Dream Career Week model, takes a structured format that can be applied in a variety of elementary settings from counselors, media specialists, or classroom teachers.  In this session, we will share how different schools applied Career Week in different structures.  Participants will leave with concrete strategies to make Career Week more impactful from structured classroom lessons and center activities to school-wide events.  


This session will blend discussion, modeling of activities and resources for attendees to create their own tooklit for career week.


Resources Provided:
- Slide deck with sample activities and best practices
- Printable student worksheets and handouts
- Planning templates
- A curated list of resources

"Improving Alignment of Pathways and Courses to Available Student Experiences" will guide teachers, administrators, and coordinators in aligning student experiences with pathway courses to maximize impact beyond the classroom. Are opportunities reaching the right students at the right time? Together, we’ll explore strategies to reduce repetition, strengthen course alignment, and intentionally plan experiences that provide clarity, relevance, and improved student outcomes.

The MAP-IT framework provides a structured approach for using technology tools to support student career exploration and planning. By guiding students through matching their interests, analyzing opportunities, creating plans, implementing actions, and tracking progress, MAP-IT ensures all students graduate with a clear and actionable career pathway. This process leverages technology’s strengths—such as career assessments, labor market insights, and digital portfolios—to make planning both meaningful and future-focused. This roundable unpacks the MAP-IT framework, how it supports career planning through advisory periods and other spaces, and how educators can use technology tools effectively. 

Strong partnerships are key in advancing Career and Technical Education. This session explores how educators can build and sustain effective collaboration with industry, postsecondary, and community partners, all to enrich student experiences while strengthening CTE pathways. Designed for classroom teachers, administrators, and program leaders, this session will provide practical strategies and tools that will help identify, engage, and grow partnerships that align with local workforce needs. Attendees will leave with ready-to-use resources, including a partnership planning template. If you are building a new program or enhancing an existing one, this session offers actionable insights to move your CTE efforts forward. 

This session reveals a model for how WBL coordinators can work with WBL mentors/hosts to facilitate students' autonomy and teamwork in designing and developing solutions to problems or challenges of their own choice, resulting in real products for real audiences. These internship strategies align with the Buck Insititute Gold Standard for PBL and are a great match for post-secondary institutions, government agencies and other large employers willing to tke on a larger number of students.