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Scaling High-Quality Work-Based Learning
Policy Academy On Scaling Work-Based Learning
The NGA Center for Best Practices, with support from the Siemens Foundation, is assisting states in scaling high quality work-based learning programs for youth and young adults in STEM-intensive industries such as advanced manufacturing, health care, information technology and energy. Currently in Phase III, since 2016 the Academy has engaged 18 states and one territory through a mix of intensive technical assistance, peer learning and topic-based learning labs.
State Strategies To Scale Work-Based Learning
States started the policy academy with the goal of expanding work-based learning in alignment with the broader statewide goals and strategies for education and credential attainment their governor has outlined.
To this end, the NGA Center has gathered best practices learned over four years of the policy academy into “State Strategies for Scaling Work-Based Learning: Lessons Learned from an NGA Policy Academy.” This report provides greater detail on how governors can lead and work with state partners on each key element of systems change.
State examples and best practices for each of those elements are shared throughout this document.
Case Study
The Navigator – North Carolina’s Online Work-Based Learning Platform
The Navigator is a free online tool to help connect classroom instruction to hands-on career learning for educators and students across North Carolina. The platform also streamlines interactions among businesses, education, and workforce development communities to facilitate and inform the creation of new work-based learning programs and improve the quality of existing programs.
State Work-Based Learning Websites
- LEADER STATES were selected for inclusion in the first Policy Academy cohort in 2016. They have been receiving intensive technical assistance from NGA for several years and acted as mentors to a new cohort of states in Phase II.
- POLICY ACADEMY STATES were selected for inclusion in the second Policy Academy cohort. They received intensive technical assistance from NGA in Phase II.
- KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE STATES were selected to participate in peer-learning from Leader States and an in-person convening.
- MENTOR STATES have been selected to share best practices with new states in Phase III. * Alabama, Nevada, North Carolina and Rhode Island were also in the Policy Academy States selected in that cohort; Utah and Washington were among the Leader States selected in 2016.
- LEARNING LAB STATES are participating in intensive technical assistance with Mentor States focused on different topics including adapting work-based learning during the pandemic and using work-based learning as a catalyst for economic recovery
- Iowa was a participant in the first cohort of the Policy Academy.
* Idaho and Illinois were also Policy Academy States, Kansas and Minnesota were also Knowledge Exchange States, and Montana was a Leader State.
