National Charter Schools Conference 2016
Session Proposal Prep Webinar
October 14, 2015
Hosted by Erin Leonard
POC for Presenters
[email protected]
Webinar Assumptions
•  You’ve visited the conference website
•  You’re planning to submit a proposal for a
workshop breakout session or peer-to-peer
breakfast networking session
•  You’ve read through the presenter webpage
•  After this, you will use the proposal template and
submit your proposal by 6:00pm EST on Friday,
10/16
Webinar Overview
Creating Your Proposal
Tips from Program Committee
Your Questions
Creating Your Proposal
Key Dates
Call for Proposals Opens
Call for Proposals Closes
Session Selector Voting
Notification of Session Status
Confirmation Deadline
Presenter Webinar 1
Presenter Webinar 2
Registration Deadline
Conference
October 5 – Now Open!
October 16 (6:00pm EST)
October 21-November 4
February 5
February 18
late March (tentative)
late May (tentative)
April 15
June 26-29
Attendee Job Titles
Conference Info
June 26-29, 2016
Nashville, TN
2015 Audience: 4,724 charter
school teachers, leaders,
administrators, board members,
state leaders, policymakers, and
education entrepreneurs, EMOs,
CMOs, etc.!
Presenter Discount: Presenters
receive discounted registration rate
of $375 (in 2015), but must cover
travel, lodging, and expenses on
their own.
25
20
15
10
5
0
20
19
15
15
18
% of Attendees
Conference Audience
Over 50% of audience has
10+ years of experience
•  Advanced-level content
•  Lots of knowledge in the room
•  But, about 30% have 0-4
years of experience
•  Many first-time board members,
teachers, and leaders that need
beginner-level content
•  Share best practices, free
tools, and practical info they
can use immediately
#1 Reason for Attending
% of #1 Rank Great Session Content 6% 11% 30% Prof. Development 15% 17% 21% To meet and learn from CS peers Top 10 Sessions 2015
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
Session Title
Presenter(s)
The Together Teacher: Plan Ahead, Get
Organized, and Save Time!
Maia Heyck Merlin, The Together Group
The Together Leader: Plan, Prioritize
and Protect Your Time!
Maia Heyck Merlin, The Together Group
Emotional Intelligence: The Key To
Successful Leadership
Jeff Hurt,Velvet Chainsaw Consulting
Brand Impact Workshop: Assessing
Power & Effectiveness of Your Brand
Clifton Alexander, REACTOR Design Studio; Emily Gairns,
REACTOR Design Studio; Chase Wilson, REACTOR Design
Studio
Revision Strategies to Improve Student
Writing & Engagement
Megan Freeman, Peak to Peak Charter School
6
Leadership
Leadership
Operations
Instruction
Leadership
Kenneth Campbell, Education Reform Consultant
That's APPtastic!
Jessica LeNeave, Pinecrest Academy of Nevada; Lorraine DeAnda,
Somerset Academy of Nevada, North Las Vegas Campus;
Instruction
Concentric Circles: Moving Away From Martinne Barracliffe, ICEF Public Schools; Jacquelynn Johnson,
Sage on the Stage Teaching
ICEF Public Schools
9
10
Instruction
Problem Solving: Cultural Sensitivity
7
8
Strand
Instruction
Three Phases of New Schools:
Application, Pre-Opening, First Year
Jill Shahen, Northeast Charter Schools Network; Taishya Adams,
American Institutes for Research; Karen Daniels, Charter School
Business Management Inc.;Yamuna Menon, Booker T. Washington
Academy; Jessica Mokhiber, Northeast Charter Schools Network;
Charlene Reid, Bronx Charter School for Excellence
Operations
Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork:
Avoiding Causes of Dysfunctions
Perry Daniel, Louisiana Virtual Charter Academy; Michael Hicks,
Southern University at Shreveport
Leadership
Attendee Quotes – Top Sessions
•  The presenter makes people think, question, and apply. That's
something that just a few people are able to do efficiently.
•  Amazing dialogue. The topic sparked a ton of very thoughtful
conversations.
•  Awesome job! Topic a necessity; presentation concept great!
•  Very, very, informative! Necessary conversations! This is a very good
way to address this topic.
•  The presenter was such an awesome facilitator. Of all of the sessions
that I've attended, this was the most interactive and collaborative.
Our Lessons from Feedback
•  Attendees want to engage their peers and have real dialogues
•  Content needs to be highly relevant
•  Formats need to engage: more topic facilitators, instead of expert
panels
Attendee Quotes – Lowest Scoring Sessions
•  It was hard to follow the presenter. He seemed to talk in circles.
•  The presenter was very negative. He gripes about administrators
and the system. Numerous people walked out of the session.
•  I think more real world examples would have been helpful.
•  This is an excellent topic and the content was alright. However, it
was not at all engaging.
Our Lessons from Feedback
• 
• 
• 
• 
Attendees do not respond well to negativity
Presenters need to be prepared
Real world examples important
Engagement and clarity are critical
Developing a Proposal: Tools
Session Proposal Template
Downloadable Word document that will:
•  Guide you through the full CFP application
•  Allow you to prepare your proposal offline
•  Get feedback from colleagues, make it high-quality
Presenter Page on Website
•  Additional tips and resources, top sessions from 2015
•  Detailed info on our strands, formats, proposal guidelines
•  We’re always updating it, check back often!
Turn Your Idea into a Proposal
1.  Start with Your Expertise
•  What unique insights can you share? What do you have particular
expertise in?
•  We want presenters who are experts or innovators and who are strong
presenters
2.  Consider the Participants
•  What do your audience members do? What skills do they need? What
problems are they trying to solve?
•  There’s a tremendous amount of knowledge in the room, plan to use it,
engage the audience
3.  Plan Your Major Points First
•  What’s the point? What examples will illustrate your point?
4.  Practical Application
•  What will attendees be able to do as a result of attending your session?
What is the relevance of the information to your target audience’s job?
Submitting Your Proposal
Strand
Select one: Governance, Instruction, Leadership, Operations, Policy
Content Level
Based on participant experience or knowledge
•  Beginner: Very basic content for attendees that are new to the topic
or have less than three years with relatable content.
•  Intermediate: More complicated content that goes beyond basics
intended for attendees with at least 4 years of experience on the
topic or relatable content.
•  Advanced: In-depth analysis and discussion intended for attendees
with 10 or more years of experience on the topic or relatable
content.
Target Audience (Identify up to two)
•  Administrators, Advocacy Specialists, Architects, Board Members, Charter
Authorizers, Communications, Counselors, Curriculum Specialists,
Developers, Education Business Representatives, Finance Specialists,
Fundraisers, Development Specialists, Government Officials, IT/Data
Management Specialists, Legal Specialists, Management, Operations
Specialists, Policy, School Leaders, Suppliers to schools (non-curriculum),
Teachers, Technology Specialists
Session Format (select one)
•  Lecture, Panel, Duo , Debate, Interview, Group Work, Hacks & Tips, Meet
Up, Breakfast Networking, Problem Solving, Speed Dating, Fishbowl/
Roundtable, Un-Conference
What interactive and adult learning elements will be part of
your session?
•  Tell us how you will incorporate adult learning practices into your session,
as well as any interactive aspects of your session.
Does your session require special room set-up or technical
needs?
•  Not guaranteed
Tags – Select all that apply based on your strand or content
•  We use tags to help participants search for sessions and to give more
context to the content or target audience of your session. Please select all
that apply.
Title (10 word limit)
•  Make sure it’s clear and provides insight into your presentation. Some top
sessions are titled as questions.
Description (75 word limit)
•  Make sure it’s aligned to your content, focuses on learning outcomes, and
provides information that would help a participant decide if they want to
attend your session
How much knowledge and experience do you have on this topic/
content? (Select one)
•  I have presented this content before and have 8 or more years of experience
in this topic.
•  I have not presented this content before to an audience, but have trained
other in my organization or at my school.
•  This would be my first time presenting this content, but I’m eager to do a
good job.
•  Other (please describe)
Why is this topic/content important to teachers or school
leaders? Select all that apply:
This content will help my audience do their regular jobs better.
This represents an important emerging issue in education.
This information is relevant to an audience bigger than just teachers and
school leaders.
This topic will be important to teachers in a more general sense, not
necessarily applicable to their regular jobs, but important.
Other (please describe): [text box]
Why is the National Charter Schools Conference (NCSC) the
right place to present your content? Select all that apply.
It’s relevant to charter school teachers and leaders.
It’s relevant to the Charter Schools movement.
It needs to be presented on a national stage.
I want to be a presenter at the NCSC.
I’m local to Tennessee and want to highlight local success.
Other (please describe): [text box]
Practical Application: What will attendees be able to do as a
result of attending your session? (50 word limit)
Resources (upload 2-3)
•  Our participants love handouts and take-home materials
•  You can upload up to three resources, materials, or documents that help
support your proposal
Presenter Experience: Have you or your co-presenters ever
presented or a previous National Charter Schools Conference?
•  If yes, what year and location? What was your ranking?
•  If no, have you presented at any past conferences (not NCSC)? Please indicate
the conference, year and location
If applicable, has your school met Adequate Yearly Progress in
the past year?
•  Yes, No, or N/A
Presenter Contact Info (required for all presenters)
•  Honorific (Mr., Ms., Mrs., Dr.), Title, Organization, Mailing Address, City, State,
Zip code, Mobile Phone, Office Phone, Email, Password, Twitter handle, and Bio
Tips from Program Committee
Selection Criteria
All proposed sessions will be reviewed by the program
committee and Alliance staff for:
•  Audience appeal and engagement. 30% of your session rating
will rest on feedback from our Session Selector process. Preference is
given to engaging session formats.
•  Relevance. Your session should focus on a topic that is both
interesting and useful for one or more of the target audiences.
•  Your experience and expertise. We are looking for speakers with
success in the charter school community/presentation experience.
•  Clarity. Session descriptions that are well written and compelling with
clear objectives, stand out.
What Our Participants Expect
Participants Want
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
Sessions with a greater depth of content
Best practices & tools they can use
Sessions designed to engage & educate
Sessions showcasing cutting edge innovations in the field
Differentiated content for veterans
Sessions showcasing innovations
Plenty of time for discussion and Q & A
What Our Participants Expect
Participants DO NOT Want
Sales pitches and product promotions
Sessions with basic content, unless listed as “beginner”
Sessions without practitioners as presenters
Presentations that do not match the description published in the
program book
•  Unorganized & underprepared presenters
•  To be lectured. They want to be engaged and trained.
• 
• 
• 
• 
If 25% or more indicate a sales pitch was made in the evaluation, you will
not be invited back
If less than 30% of attendees submit session evaluations presenters will
be less likely to present in the future.
Tips to Help You
Use Your Expertise
•  Stay within your strengths, talk about what you know really well.
•  What are you doing really well that others can learn from or replicate.
•  We seek to have many practitioners as presenters, as their experience in the
classroom/board room/principal’s office can relate directly to our audience.
•  Practice is preferred over theoretical
Be Unique – Make Your Proposal Stand Out
•  We get a lot of proposals on similar topics, and often only chose one
•  We seek a diversity of content & speakers
•  Consider your unique angle, expertise or teaching technique and focus on that
Make all of this clear in your proposal!
Skip the Fluff
Go Deep
•  Even beginner-level sessions should go deep right away
•  Frame ONE problem or a question you’ll answer
•  No need for unnecessary words – in your proposal or during your
presentation, keep it short and sweet
•  Edit yourself – and have others edit you as well
•  Use the session proposal template to your advantage!
Show How You Will Engage the Audience
•  In your proposal highlight how you’re going to interact with the audience
•  This is extremely important with adult learners (more on that to come)
•  There’s a lot of expertise in the room – give them the opportunity to share
their pointers.
Most Needed Content
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
Advanced Content that addresses the issues of veteran
teachers, leaders and board members
Highlighting Innovations that make charter school unique,
new ways of thinking/approaching learning
Critical Basic Elements – what do new staff/schools need
to succeed?
Hot Topics – what are the topics that are discussed with
your peers at the bar? What are the issues facing education that
need to be discussed?
What you know best! We’re interested in hearing from
leading experts & pracitioners.
Formats that Go Deep
•  Workshop/Training – sessions that lead attendees
through an exercise/experience or allows them to
create, role play or use a new tool
•  Interviews/Debates – sessions that focus on a
critical topic or engage key experts to drill down in a
topic
•  Great Moderators – panels benefit from a great
moderator, generally with a clear opinion on the topic.
Acceptance Rate 2015
Session Selector is a great
way to make your proposal
stand out (voting is 30% of
selection criteria).
Next Steps
Complete your proposal and hit submit by 6pm EST Friday,
10/16
•  Get in touch with any questions - [email protected]
•  We’ll also reach out to you with any questions
Session Selector Voting: October 21-November 4
•  Plan to reach out to your networks (emails, phone calls)
•  Utilize social media
•  We’ll share some social media content, but encourage you to develop
your own. Hashtag is #NCSC16.
You’ll hear back from us back February 5
•  We’ll contact you if you’re selected or not
Thank You!
We look forward to reading your proposals and
hope to see you in Nashville!
Your Questions
Please state your name, organization, and question
You can also email questions to us at:
[email protected]