Call for Presenters 2023
The submission window for proposals opens April 12 and closes May 31. The conference will take place in Bellevue, WA November Nov. 16-18, 2023.
WSSDA’s Annual Conference in November connects school directors, superintendents, student board representatives, and educators from around the state to share, learn and be inspired. The conference also gives attendees the opportunity to be both a learner and a teacher.
School directors, board-superintendent teams, student leaders, educators, and subject-matter experts are invited to submit breakout session proposals for the 2023 WSSDA Annual Conference to share your experiences and expertise with conference attendees. Not every presenter has be an “expert” or have all the solutions as long as what you’ll share is relevant and informative for our school boards. We encourage submissions that represent a diverse range of voices, concepts, and subject matter to provide a full menu of options for session attendees.
Sessions that center student experiences, feature students as presenters, and/or focus on the role of the students in board decision-making will be given high priority as part of a “student voice” series.
Strands
These six strands encompass the most important work of school boards, plus there is a category for sponsored sessions that include a vendor. Use them as a framework to think about topics in which other boards would benefit from your experiences.
Visionary Leadership – Strategic planning and implementation, innovative practices, trends in education and technology, district culture, professional development, collaborative process, board-superintendent roles and responsibilities, superintendent search and evaluation, facilities planning, leadership in times of crisis, post-pandemic transformation.
Effective Governance – Policy and legal issues, district oversight, accountability, board governance tools, finance, budgeting, collective bargaining, governing during a crisis, lessons from virtual meetings and events.
Strategic Advocacy – Community engagement, legislative advocacy and outreach, partnerships, passing bonds and levies, new ways to connect virtually, advocating for student and district needs.
Educational Equity – Eliminating opportunity gaps; equity policies; cultural competency and culturally-relevant practices; addressing disproportionalities regarding race, poverty, gender, special education status, second language learners and migrant status; implicit bias; DEI (diversity, equity and representation); ensuring equity during times of crisis.
Student Success – Understanding and using student data; multiple measurements of success, including academic achievement; students prepared for life, college and career; student engagement; student voice; virtual tools and instruction.
Student Well-Being – Supporting students during and after the pandemic; social-emotional learning; counseling and mental health; physical health and safety; social emotional learning (SEL); inclusionary and/or trauma-informed practices, addressing issues of homelessness and foster care; re-engaging dropouts.
Sponsored — topics presented by vendors relevant to school boards and districts
Presentation Proposals
Tips
Breakout session proposals are most likely to be selected if they:
- Offer action steps and replicable ideas for the success of our students and schools
- Include school directors and/or students in the presentation team
- Incorporate student voice
- Include data or other evidence of success
- Provide insight into how a district has successfully tackled an issue and made improvements, even if not fully resolved yet
- Describe the school board’s role in the process
