Connecting Activities (CA) is a Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education initiative that leverages a statewide infrastructure to support “college and career readiness” for all students. The CA line item in the state budget establishes public-private partnerships through the 16 local workforce investment boards to connect schools and businesses by providing structured work-based learning experiences for students that support both their academic and employability skill attainment.
Connecting Activities enables staff to recruit employers; prepare and place students in brokered work-based learning opportunities; and structure those experiences through the use of the Massachusetts Work-Based Learning Plan. Through CA, students achieve more learning hours by extending the classroom to the workplace while providing more adults who can support them in one-to-one relationships.