The Call for Proposals to present a professional development session at the 2018 TCSA Conference is open now through May 15^th.  Whether you are a CEO or CFO, involved in curriculum and instruction, operations, personnel management, communications, school safety, or a host of other areas, there is a conference training category that will help to define your idea and assist attendees as they choose sessions.  That said, your proposal should link to one or more of the professional development strands promoted by TCSA:  Innovation, Advocacy, Finance, Governance, Leadership and Coaching, Operations, Student Success and Learning, School Law, Growth, Safety and Security, Strategic Planning, Marketing, and Communication. 

You may be thinking that you don’t want to spend the time developing a proposal unless you have a pretty good idea that it will be selected by the conference committee.  Here’s a secret to increase the odds for selection: make sure your proposal is PERFECT!  In other words, your proposal should have the following characteristics:

• Portability – the information provided can be used and applied by other member schools
• Explicitness – what you present should be clear and understandable to your audience
• Relevance– the topic should be applicable to the current Texas charter environment
• Fidelity –current law, rules, and policy ideas should be linked to your presentation
• Excellence - research-based best practices are shared with your audience
• Creativity – the topic presented addresses an important issue or theme in a unique and different manner
• Tonality – your session should be interesting and interactive – not a boring lecture!

All of us at TCSA marvel at the wonderful practices we see when we have the opportunity to visit our member schools.   The strength of the charter movement in Texas is found in its charter holders and the great things you do every day to promote student success.  Please consider taking the time to share those successes through a 2018 TCSA conference session proposal.  Please contact me if you have any additional questions related to the proposal process.  We have a significant opportunity to thrive and grow as a movement when we share our best practices with our fellow school leaders!