Request for Workshop Proposals

The Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) is proud to host the 2023 National Community Schools and Family Engagement Conference in Philadelphia. This national conference brings together people from across the country who believe all children deserve a safe place to live and opportunities to learn and thrive. Inspired by our theme: Spreading Love & Supporting All Children, the conference is designed to catalyze collaboration, action, and a renewed commitment to transforming our practices, partnerships and systems.

At this conference, over 3,000 participants will engage in an abundance of learning and networking opportunities designed to increase their knowledge of family engagement and Community Schools, sharpen their skillsets to lead collaboratively, and implement effective strategies.

Due to high interest and limited room capacity, we are only able to select a limited number of workshop proposals to be included in the conference. Using a rubric, workshop submissions will be reviewed and ranked by Community Schools and family engagement specialists. Previous acceptance and partnership with IEL does not guarantee acceptance nor influence the review process. It is unlikely that one organization will have multiple proposals accepted.

Criteria for Selection:

The primary criteria for selection of workshop sessions are that they are relevant, useful and support attendees with their work. This conference is comprised of various constituents, including: parent and youth leaders; school and district leaders; community organizers and union activists; elected officials; Community School coordinators and initiative leaders; education, justice and health system professionals; early childhood educators; university partners; disability advocates; researchers; and more. Therefore, we seek sessions that will address a range of audiences and interests. We ask that presenters work to ensure that sessions: 

• Incorporate a variety of important constituents; 
• Are interactive; and  
• Provide specific and practical insights such as lessons learned, implementation ideas (especially during COVID-19), recommendations or action steps that can assist attendees with their planning efforts. 

When submitting your proposal, please select the most appropriate categories for content level and topical area for the workshop. If your proposed workshop overlaps in two topic areas, select the strongest one and discuss the linkages with other aspects of practice in your detailed description. All workshops are 75 minutes long.

Please note that commercially available products will not be featured in workshops. If you’d like to promote a product, please contact us for exhibiting and advertising opportunities.

Please use the Supplemental Information and Templates to construct and review your proposal. Reviewers will be using the rubric to make a final decision about your proposal.

If you have not submitted a proposal for this conference, you will need to create a new account.