Funding Priorities

Career Technical Education (CTE)

Engaging students, families, employers, educational institutions, and communities to create organized educational activities that provide rigorous academic content and technical knowledge that are relevant to students, culturally responsive, and support youth development toward future careers.

CTE programs of study provide students with learning opportunities aligned with career clusters, coaching, mentorship, and supportive relationships to help navigate potential career pathways and transitions from middle school to high school and from high school to postsecondary opportunities.

Work Based Learning (WBL)

Paid, hands-on, experiential learning opportunities where youth and young adults contribute to their community while building job-related and social emotional skills meant to prepare them for career pathway transitions and their educational, vocational or other postsecondary aspirations.

Effective work based learning models provide meaningful mentorship for students, youth, and young adults to foster both workforce readiness and youth leadership development. Training for adults, including employers and mentors, is essential to ensure providers can effectively facilitate ongoing, inclusive, and culturally-relevant structured learning experiences.

Integrating Youth Leadership and Transition Support in Grant-Funded Projects

Grantees must incorporate Youth Leadership Development and Transition Support into their proposed project, whether it is focused on CTE or WBL.

Youth Leadership Development is a strengths-based approach that engages the whole person by fostering social-emotional and leadership skills, self-advocacy, and positive relationships through mentoring and peer-to-peer networks. Programs are based on culturally responsive strategies which understand and honor youth identities, backgrounds, and lived experiences within Northern New Mexico.

Transition Supports include financial resources, technical assistance, and mentoring for youth and young adults as they transition from middle school to secondary education to postsecondary education and the workforce. Transition supports may be housed within schools, postsecondary institutions, community organizations, and partnerships with employers or tribal and state agencies. They help youth and young adults develop professional skills and move seamlessly through meaningful and relevant secondary and postsecondary opportunities aligned with student aspirations.

Proven Practices in CTE and WBL Project Development

Grantees are encouraged to include these proven practices in their proposed projects:

For CTE projects:

Competency-based/applied learning for academic and problem-solving skills.
Developing employability, technical, and industry-specific skills.
Developing entrepreneurship knowledge.
Developing and coordinating links between secondary and postsecondary education (e.g., dual enrollment, postsecondary credit or advanced standing through credit transfer agreements).

For WBL projects:

WBL may take the form of internships, co-op, career awareness/exploration, on-the-job training, work experience, transitional jobs, pre-apprenticeships, and apprenticeships.
Supporting school-to-work transition and fostering student-employer relationships.
Aligning work experiences with education pathways, offering academic credit.

For both CTE and WBL projects, grantees must have proven practices in Youth Leadership Development and Transition Supports:

Youth Leadership Development

Emphasizing civic engagement in schools, communities, and workplaces.
Promoting youth voice, decision-making, self-regulation, and self-determination.
Helping youth identify passions, strengths, and ownership of growth.
Addressing diverse needs, including equity, mental health, and job/education access and connections to land, language, and culture.

Transition Supports

Technical courses in the last two years of high school and early college.
Near-peer mentoring and guidance from experienced individuals.
Internships, job shadowing, and on-the-job training.
Pre-apprenticeships, apprenticeships and other preparation for skilled trades.
Facilitating supportive transitions from academic learning to real-world employment.
Including families and communities to nurture confidence, initiative, self-control, and effective communication.

Application Process