ACTE's 2024 National Work-Based Learning Conference

At this session, learn how North Dakota is using a systematic approach to provide work-based learning opportunities to high school students state-wide, while also ensuring local administrators and educators can manage these opportunities to meet their local needs. Work-based Learning is becoming more of a focus for individual schools, districts, regions and even states as educators and employers alike are seeing value in connecting students to real-world experiences as part of their high school journey, but WBL can be difficult to manage, particularly finding employers who want to participate and keeping track of employer contacts, applications, agreements, and evaluations. In North Dakota, two companies have partnered with the state to solve this issue systematically while meeting other state requirements. Learn how Golden Path Solutions and XAP have partnered to provide a robust solution where employers can provide information about themselves and share with schools they choose, how opportunities for work-based learning and career exploration are created, how administrators can approve opportunities, track applications, and manage agreements, and how all of this can be recorded as part of the student’s four-year rolling plan. Dawn Ulmer (member of the ACTE WBL Board and North Dakota CTE program director) will be joined by Patrick Mineer and Gwen March from Golden Path and XAP to discuss the solution, what they’ve learned, and what’s next.