ACTE's 2024 National Work-Based Learning Conference

Work based learning (WBL) works, we all know that very well. It only works if it can be accessed, though. WBL is often out of reach for many students due to barriers such as grade point average and/or credit requirements, transportation limitations, history of attendance challenges, etc. For over 22 years, GPS Education Partners (GPS Ed) has been partnering with schools, businesses, and communities to break down each of those barriers to allow access to work based learning to students who are traditionally underrepresented in WBL. This session will be a deep dive into what is one of the most unique and immersive instances (and longest running) of work based learning in the country. GPS Ed has a slogan to "Make School Work" and that is exactly what the Education Center & Youth Apprenticeship Program has done, quite literally. The program is a network of education centers across urban, suburban and rural areas which are classrooms ("school") embedded within a business ("work") environment. High school junior and senior students that are enrolled in the program spend 1/2 of the day in one of the education centers with a GPS Ed instructor learning academic content (math, ELA, social studies, etc) and the other 1/2 of the day working/training/learning as a youth apprentice at a GPS Ed business partner in the manufacturing, automotive, or construction industries. There is also a very heavy amount of life/personal skills development that is intertwined throughout the program as well as certifications that are earned. Over 1250 students have successfully graduated from this program and attest to its transformative and life changing impact. To see the program's impact on our most recent graduating class, please visit: gpsed.org/classof2023