Work-Based LearningFoundationSanta Fe, New Mexico
From the classroom to the job site, mapped step by step.
We’re the one-stop shop for districts building real, insured, credit-bearing internship programs — grant research and writing, employer partnerships, insurance guidance, and a growing database that connects businesses directly to job-ready student interns across Northern New Mexico.
Three groups, one bridge between them
The Work-Based Learning Foundation exists to make internships easy to say yes to — for the school that has to insure them, the business that has to host them, and the student who has to show up ready.
Build a program administrators will approve — and fund it
Grant research and writing support, course design, principal buy-in scripts, teacher recruitment, and district HR training — so your work-based learning course is fully covered under school insurance and funded from day one.
See the 8-step path →Host an intern without the guesswork
MOU templates, workers’ compensation guidance, and a mentor app that takes two minutes a day — plus a growing regional database that matches you directly to bootcamp-trained student interns, not just to a district contact.
View partner resources →Show up job-ready, not just present
A self-paced employability bootcamp — resumes, interviews, professional email, onboarding paperwork — plus a spot in our partner database, so employers can find you directly once you’re ready.
Preview the bootcamp →Getting a work-based learning course approved, in short
The full guide covers eight steps in detail. Here’s the shape of it.
Embed the course
Add a work-based learning / internship course into the master schedule as a credit-bearing elective, tied to a CTE or advisory pathway.
Get administrative buy-in
A short packet for principals and district leadership: liability coverage, staffing cost, and student outcome data, presented in one meeting.
Recruit and train a coordinating teacher
Job description, stipend guidance, and a first-semester checklist for the staff member who will run the course.
Confirm workers’ compensation coverage
Language and documentation showing the worksite is a school-sanctioned extension of the classroom, covered under district insurance.
Sign business partners
MOU templates, insurance language, and a recruiting script for approaching local employers.
Led by the person who already built this — twice
Founder Jose A. Villarreal, Jr. spent the last seven years researching, launching, and scaling New Mexico’s most successful district work-based learning programs, first in Farmington and then in Santa Fe. This Foundation exists to bring that same playbook to every district in the state.
Read Jose’s story →The internship is the classroom. The insurance follows it there.
When a work-based learning course is properly embedded in the school day, the worksite is treated as an extension of the classroom — meaning student workers’ compensation coverage extends to the job site, not just the building. We help districts document and communicate that clearly, to HR, to families, and to partner businesses.
See the insurance guidance →- Hiring student workers under district systems
- Payroll, or unpaid-credit, classification
- Extending workers’ comp to the worksite
- Minor labor law & work-permit basics
- Documentation for auditors and school boards
Built by philanthropy, for New Mexico kids
Every district we onboard, every mentor training session, and every hour of timekeeping software is funded by local and regional donors who believe in this work.
$0 raised — join our 3-year, $1,000,000 Founding Campaign
One clean app for clocking in, verifying time, and staying in touch
Students clock in and out with GPS-verified location. Mentors approve hours from an emailed link — no account, no app download required on their end. WBL staff can message mentors directly to solve problems before they become bigger ones, and pull reports formatted for district time-tracking systems like TimeClock Plus.
How the timekeeping app works →WBL Time
✓ GPS clock in / clock out
✓ No-login mentor approval by email
✓ Mentor-to-staff messaging
✓ Exportable timesheets
✓ iOS & Android
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