The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) is seeking session proposals for its Great Ideas in Education: Empowered Together Conference, which will take place Oct. 25-27 at the Wichita Hyatt and Century II Convention Center. 

For the conference, KSDE will offer approximately 60 breakout sessions, with each session lasting 75 minutes. 

Proposals are due by May 12. 

Empowered Together is the theme for this year’s conference. Proposals should speak to the theme. Proposals will be reviewed, and a response from KSDE will be sent out the first week of July to the email address provided on the proposal form. 

As you develop your proposal, consider how it will impact education or services provided to Kansas students. 

Some strands have sub-strands, and a brief description is offered below. 

Please select the strand that best aligns with your proposal. Be sure your description is well thought out and explains the content that will be shared during your session. 

For questions, please contact Pat Bone at pbone@ksde.org.

Balanced Assessment System: 
A balanced assessment system can be thought of as a collection of assessments that provide varying types of feedback about instruction and student learning. In general terms, a balanced assessment system works to utilize formative, interim and summative assessments for learning and of learning. 

Knowing the difference and how to use each assessment is critical to having a complete, balanced assessment system. Sessions should focus on building capacity to administer and utilize data to drive instruction. 

Early Childhood: 
The path to leading the world in the success of each student starts in early childhood, long before the start of the kindergarten year.   

A focus on early childhood requires a commitment to strong community partnerships. Presentations in this strand should focus on strategies to help teachers, school leaders, communities, families and children become more kindergarten ready in developmentally appropriate ways. 

Elevating Voices in Education:  
Proposals should focus on meaningful elevation of all student voices through purposeful school and community collaboration and partnerships. 
 
Areas of focus may include: 

• Family and Community Partnerships  
• Essential Skills/Kansans Can Competencies 
• Equity and Inclusion 
• Climate and Culture 
   

Leadership: 

• Fiscal Responsibilities: School Finance: Bonds, LOB, Republishing, ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) Reporting, Legal Max. 
• Data Integrity: How data gets used, and why it’s important to collect. 
• Training: Board clerk and school board members. 
• Kansas Education Systems Accreditation (KESA): As a tool to support Kansas in leading the world in the success of each student, KESA: 

1. Ensures that each K-12 system meets a minimum standard of quality for compliance and continuous improvement, and 
2. Evaluates each system’s student outcomes, both for a minimum standard and excellence in student success. 

• Teacher Recruitment and Retention: This sub-strand will focus on systems' efforts to retain quality educators and recruit the next generation. 
   

Safe and Supportive Schools: 
Creating safe and supportive school environments requires a comprehensive and coordinated effort. All stakeholders should be involved in creating and supporting positive school climates, preventing school violence, and protecting the school community through building positive relationships, security, emergency management and preparedness planning. 

Teaching and Learning: 
The Power in Pedagogy: Excellence in teaching and learning empowers students to achieve their full potential. This strand emphasizes exemplary, high-quality teaching of the Kansas standards through evidenced-based practices and materials to provide the best learning experiences for our students. Sessions will focus on purposeful planning, engaging lesson implementation, and reflection on lesson outcomes to continue to grow in professional expertise. 

Areas of focus may include: 

• Career and Technical Education (CTE) 
• High-quality instruction 
• Service learning/civic engagement 
• Standards alignment 
• Structured literacy 
• Work-based learning 

Technology and Cybersecurity:

The Technology and Cybersecurity strand will cover topics related to the K-12 cybersecurity landscape and best practices, technology plans, sustainability, and all things "data" (student data privacy, data collection, data governance, data quality, data reporting and data literacy).  

For questions, please contact Pat Bone at pbone@ksde.org