INTERESTED IN PRESENTING AT 2024 CONFERENCE?

Washington, DC | October 22-25, 2024

Arts Schools Network Proposal to Present at Annual Conference

 Are you interested in presenting at the ASN 2024 Conference- below is what you need to know to prepare a proposal to present?

 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

To ensure highly engaging and meaningful sessions for conference attendees, ASN invites you to submit a presentation/session proposal for consideration. Prior to completing a submission, please review the following presenter information for our 2024 conference: ART AT THE FOREFRONT OF CHANGE

ABOUT THE 2024 CONFERENCE

Fifty years ago, Duke Ellington School of the Arts began as vision of its cofounders, Mike Malone and Peggy Cooper Cafritz, to build an institution that would provide world-class arts education to students who would not normally have such opportunity. Yet the power of that concept was not simply that underserved students would have access to the arts or be able to express themselves. It was that those without a voice would be empowered with the skills and the platform to tell their own stories.  

They knew an essential truth -- that the revolutionary and moving power of art is not just in the performance, but in the stories that get told.

In Washington, DC storytelling and change are intertwined. Lobbying, legislation, funding, policy and programs are driven by storytelling.  Who wins and who loses is often defined by who is better at telling.  As we explore the future of arts education we have to come to grips with the growing impact of policy and politics on the future of creativity.

From reductions in arts funding to banned books to increasing censorship to digital distribution to shifting copyright laws to artificial intelligence, the ability to create with freedom and to profit from that creativity is under threat. Yet within that environment also lies a whole new realm of opportunities that will impact how we teach, how students learn and the very definition of what an arts institution is for the next 50 years.

The ASN Conference will explore the extraordinary power of storytelling in the 21st century -- the economy, policies and politics driven by storytelling and the important role of the arts in shaping not only the culture of the nation and the globe but the future as well.

Session Format for all Break-out Sessions

All sessions for the 2024 conference will be 75 minutes in length.  All break-out session will be scheduled on Wednesday, October 23, 2024.

Choose A Content Pathway-Theme

All proposed sessions must fit within an established content pathway (see list below). Please determine which pathway your session best aligns with and select only one content pathway.

  • Social Emotional Health and Mindfulness- both students and staff
  • Working with community organizations.
  • Innovative Arts Programming
  • Telling your school's story
  • Promoting Relationships, Curriculum, and Instructional Content between Arts and Academic Teachers
  • Starting a Foundation/Fundraising Organization in your school
  • Innovative Leadership or Teaching Practices
  • Advocating for the Arts

Participation and Engagement

All proposed sessions should actively engage participants in hands-on experiences, collaborative challenges, in-depth discussions, or the development of new ideas and hands-on application.

Tips to make your proposal stand out:

Pick a topic that is timely, relevant, thought-provoking, and genuinely interests you. What challenges and successes are you witnessing on school campuses and how can those lessons be applied more broadly?

  • Be clear and captivating in your title and description. A good title will invite the attendee to join by making the topic and coverage distinct and engaging. Make sure that your description supports the title.
  • Proofread and edit what you’ve submitted so reviewers know you’ve taken the time to perfect your submission.
  • Do you have a captivating lesson for your students- take your peers through this lesson?

Criteria are used to review proposals:

Presentation proposals should be timely, carefully considered, and prepared, interactive, and provide resources, takeaways, and action points. To ensure that every participant feels their time spent in workshops is valuable, reviewers will consider some of the following criteria when evaluating presentation proposals:

  • Relevance: The proposed session should interface with the felt needs, challenges, and opportunities in today’s schools, organizations, and society.  The session proposal aligns with the conference's overall theme.
  • Approach: The following should be clear: the session description and objectives; how the session adds value to the conference and serves attendees; who the target audience is; what modes of facilitation the presenters will use; and what takeaways participants can expect.
  • Creativity and innovation: The session should bring to bear a new lens or perspective on its topic.
  • Demonstrated expertise: The session should present original research, applied knowledge of (others’) recognized research or theory, models or use of evidence-based practices, personal mastery, and/or reflective practice.
  • Impact: The session should lend itself to professional or personal application. It should be designed to encourage attendees to contemplate follow-up, continued exploration, and action planning on various levels.

Proposal Submission Process

All proposals must be submitted via the online Google form by April 19, 2024. All proposals should be completed in full and to the best of the presenter(s) ability. 

Notification of Selection

All proposals selected for presentation at the 2024 conference will be notified through email by May 31, 2024, of acceptance to present. 

If you have questions, please email our Educational Events Coordinator, William Kohut, at [email protected].