Summary of the three requirements that must be in place before a student may be counted for up to two hours of daily attendance while participating in a work-based learning experience:

• the work is directly related to a course the student is currently enrolled in or has taken.

• work-based learning agreement is in place and on file at the school and workplace. A suggested agreement is shown starting on page 11 of Kansas Work-Based Learning: Personalized Learning Plan Guidance Document

• work log/timesheets/attendance hours are regularly maintained.

 Ten Benefits for Students 

Students will benefit through: 

1. Making connections between classroom learning and real-world scenarios. 

2. Practicing and enhancing personal employability skills. 

3. Observing exceptional professionals in action. 

4. Removing the fear of practicing something new. 

5. Understanding the need for postsecondary education, training and/or credentialing to enhance success within a career of choice. 

6. Networking with future employers and/or community leaders. 

7. Refining authentic technical skills under the eye of a trained CTE teacher. 

8. Industry aligned safety training using equipment found on the job. 

9. Expanded personal growth and leadership development through CTE aligned CTSOs. 

10. Arranged postsecondary articulation agreements which may provide free credit, entrance into juried programs, expansion of scholarships and recognition of CTE program completion while in high school. 

Eight Benefits for Local Business and Industry

Local business and industry will benefit through: 

1. Expanding a pool of trained workers. 

2. Sharing education and training needed past high school graduation to enhance success in the field. 

3. Promoting the importance of employability skills that reflects the specific needs of the identified career field. 

4. Embracing the desire to give back to the community through school partnerships. 

5. Having a voice in workforce training. 

6. Providing equipment and procedure processes to CTE programs so students can advance skill training before work experiences. 

7. Ensuring CTE student learners arrive with documented safety training and practices in place. 

8. Lowering retraining costs by ensuring foundational technical knowledge and skill experiences are aligned to the industry. 

Five Benefits for Parents and Families 

Parents and families of student learners will benefit through: 

1. Expanded career awareness and exploration activities to enhance interest-based career selection before high school graduation. 

2. Gained confidence the educational experiences are aligned with careers needed today and in the future. 

3. Stronger engagement to offer student learner support without having to know about the selected career field personally. 

4. Applied experiences with foundational career training which has little or no cost to them. 

5. Enhanced skill development through CTSO experiences leading to expanded scholarship opportunities, network expansion to include adults already in the field outside of the local community and enhanced success skills through leadership and personal growth. 

Five Benefits for Your CTE Program 

Since it is common WBL opportunities are found with your CTE program, your program will benefit through: 

1. Additional funding (i.e. Perkins V, State weighted funding for approved CTE Pathways) to bring rigorous and relevant CTE experiences to your school and students. 

2. Increased student engagement and interest due to interest surveys and alignment to workforce needs. 

3. Expanded student motivation to succeed because they can see the relevance. 

4. Support for individualized instruction that meets their needs and moves student learners to the level needed for their next step toward career and postsecondary success. 

5. Recognized community participation and involvement through business and industry partnerships including but not limited to classroom activities/field trips/ speaking; CTE program support through speaking highly of the value; and securing of resources (from equipment donations to additional financial donations). 

Nine Benefits for Your School 

Your school will benefit through: 

1. Stronger community involvement. 

2. Expanded student understanding of learning linked to employment. 

3. Increased perception value of educational experiences. 

4. Stronger student engagement and workforce aligned curriculum. 

5. Access to funds to support CTE not possible otherwise. 

6. Having staff with strong understanding and best practice knowledge in project-based learning, personalized instruction and real-world relevance. 

7. Expanded opportunities for student learner employability skill attainment, personal growth, self-esteem and leadership through CTSOs. 

8. Classroom and CTSO actions and accomplishments, which can be used to build school accreditation documentation. 

9. Enhanced opportunities for higher graduation rates and postsecondary success. 

Student Status 

Participant: A student who has earned one (1) but less than two (2) secondary level credits in a single career and technical education (CTE) pathway. 

Concentrator: A student who has earned two (2) or more secondary level credits in a single CTE pathway, with those credits within any combination of two levels AND has met at least 70% proficiency on the technical skills across those 2.0 credits through several technical skill measures (avg % of letter grades OR passing % of end-of-course assessments or projects OR avg % on competency profiles, etc.). 

Completer: Select the check box only for a student who has completed a minimum of three (3) secondary level credits in a single CTE pathway, with at least two (2) of those credits being a combination of technical and application-level courses, and qualifies for one of the following: 

• Earning a comprehensive, industry-recognized certification (IRC) recorded on the K-PAC (Kansas Pathway Assessments, Credentials or Certifications) columns eight (8) and nine (9) 

• A passing score on a third-party, end-of-pathway assessment recorded on the K-PAC (Kansas Pathway Assessments, Credentials or Certifications) columns eight (8) and nine (9) 

• Earn an Excel in CTE Qualifying Recognized Credential aligned to the Pathway 

• Earn nine (9) + college hours leading to completion of a certificate or postsecondary program aligned to the Pathway’s Program of Study 

Resources

Work-Based Learning Resources Elementary Career Awareness Resource

Kansas Work-Based Learning: Personalized Learning Plan Guidance Document Middle School Career Exploration Resource 

Measuring and Reflecting Student Learning (002).pdf