Tips and guidelines

Creating an interactive presentation

Thank you for your interest in presenting at CCSA’s Annual Conference! We pride ourselves on high quality, engaging programing. Please refer to the tips below to make your sure your presentation is both clear and engaging.

What is CCSA looking for in a proposal?

1. Alignment and relevance

We have carefully designed learning strands (see “Breakout session strands and topics”) that reflect the categories of programming attendees look for. Please align your session carefully with the correct strand. Additionally, we strongly encourage presenters to thoughtfully select topics that are relevant to the charter community this year. The educational landscape is always changing and we look for sessions that meet the needs of our attendees now.

2. Inspirational and unique

Innovation is a hallmark of charter schools. We look for sessions that showcase real school-based experiences that can inspire and instruct attendees on innovative and effective practices. Do you have a unique practice that you’ve utilized in your classroom or on your campus with impressive results? Do you believe others can benefit from your story? If so, we want to hear from you.

3. Intentional facilitation

We are looking for sessions with a variety of facilitation strategies, as you can see in our session proposal application. Additionally, the learning objective or outcome should be clearly defined, and a thoughtful facilitation approach is chosen. Presentation, discussion, panel, and hands-on workshops are all welcomed, and we encourage you to select a format that best matches the learning experience you want the attendees to have.

What makes a quality CCSA Conference presentation?

Attendees of the CCSA Conference want content that is relevant to them and takeaways they can apply when they return to their school communities.

Breakout session presenters should...

• Have a clear objective and purpose: what do you want attendees to learn, know, or do as the result of your session? Communicate this clearly when you present as well.
• Offer clear takeaways: practical models, techniques and materials that are easily adaptable and can be implemented at a school. Provide handouts or resources.
• Feature school leaders, teachers, parents, and community members as presenters whenever possible. Engage the audience by providing real life stories, examples, and case studies.
• Create processing space. We recommend allowing some time for discussion, Q and A, or reflection activities to help attendees integrate the learning you are offering.
• Never engage in sale pitches. Remember, "If you're speaking, you should be teaching." Your presentation is to be educational in nature, not a sales pitch. See the “no sales pitch” policy in our session proposal application.