Just two weeks remain until the June 21 deadline to submit a presentation proposal for the 2024 CSDC Conference set for November 18-20 in Sacramento!
Presenting at the CSDC Conference is a great way to build capacity in the California charter school sector and to have a huge impact on the lives of students, faculty, and communities across the state.
Need Help Bainstorming?
This year the conference programming team is seeking proposals for 70+ topics organized into 9 strands.
Strand 1: Accountability and Renewal
- LCAP: best practices
- LCAP: how we solved a challenge
- Oversight: streamlined and sound
- Renewal and oversight data: getting on the same page with the authorizer
- Renewal data: making a case when first-glance data looks tough
- Renewal petition drafting: legal updates
- Renewal: building support
- Other
Strand 2: Educational Approaches
- Brain-based learning
- Build a strong Transitional Kindergarten program
- Effective flex-/nonclassroom-based approaches
- Effective Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)
- Effective STEM and science education
- Innovative approaches (e.g., project-based learning)
- Instructional leadership: Data-driven instruction & shifting teacher practice
- Leveraging technology
- Parents as partners in learning
- Promoting growth in core content areas
- Promoting growth in social emotional learning, including explicit sequential instruction
- Social justice and anti-bias in the curriculum
- Strong Career Technical Education programs
- Supporting the success of students with disabilities
- Supporting the success and progress of English Learners
- Other
Strand 3: Student Support Systems
- Beyond academic readiness: preparing students to complete college
- Changing adult mindsets
- Developing and launching successful Community Schools
- Improving school attendance: what works
- Restorative justice and positive behavior support
- School climate and student connectedness
- Student mental health needs, including crisis supports
- Student voice
- Understanding neurodiversity
- Other
Strand 4: Governance
- Building a successful relationship with your authorizer
- Charter school mergers
- Creating local networking opportunities with other charter schools
- Effective board management practices
- Essential charter school policies
- Forming a PAC
- Managing/recruiting volunteers
- Positive parent communication
- Strategic planning for charter schools
- Successfully recruiting charter school board members
- Other
Strand 5: Human Resources
- CalSAAS Monitoring and Reporting
- Collective bargaining
- Compensation and benefits
- Developing competitive salary and benefits packages
- Disrupting bias in the hiring process
- Employee classifications and contracts
- Employment law and regulations
- Employee leaves
- HR claim trends in charter schools
- Inclusion, equity and diversity
- Leadership and personal growth
- Mental health and wellness
- People and talent management
- Risk Management: proactive HR
- Recruitment and talent acquisition
- Teacher credentialing
- Wage and hour compliance
- Workplace culture and work/life integration
- Other
Strand 6: Leadership and Equity
- Addressing teacher and administrator burnout
- Building effective charter leaders and leadership teams: recruitment, development, and retention strategies
- Developing and maintaining strategic partnerships
- Developing leadership succession plans
- Equity audits
- Increasing racial diversity, equity, inclusion, and cultural competence among charter school and district administrators
- Leading change effectively
- Leading diverse, inclusive, equitable, and anti-racist organizations
- Redefining organizational culture of wellness in our schools
- Special education compliance
- Student leadership
- Translating mission, vision, and values into practice
- Unions and charter schools
- Other
Strand 7: Policy and Advocacy
- Building advocates: empowering educators and education partners to support charter schools at critical moments
- Changing the game: running for local school board or county office of education
- Emerging issues: policy proposals that could impact charter schools and public education
- Legal and policy update
- Material revisions, MOUs, and authorizer policies: challenges for growth
- Strengthening democracy: non-partisan civic engagement in schools
- Working together for a better future: coalitions, collaboration, and community-based
- solutions to big problems facing schools, youth, and families
- Other
Strand 8: School Operations
- Bond financing for charter school facilities
- Building and managing a sustainable food program
- Co-locating schools
- Cyber security
- District/charter leases
- Effectively navigating Prop 39
- Facilities fundamentals
- Facilities master planning
- Financing
- Leveraging AI in school operations
- Liability trends and how to avoid them
- Managing a food program in a nonclassroom-based setting
- Recruitment, enrollment, and retention strategies
- Risk management
- SB 740 facilities strategies
- School operations self-audits
- School safety
- Statewide implications
- Student admissions, lottery, and enrollment laws
- Other
Strand 9: Strategic Fiscal Management
- Categorical funding
- Federal funding management
- Fundraising
- How to have a successful audit
- Independent study compliance
- Managing Prop 28 Arts and Music in Education (AME) Funding
- Special education without breaking the bank
- When and how to invest
- Other
Why Present?
Presenting at the CSDC Conference empowers you to:
- Network and connect with school leaders from across California
- Impart timely, actionable information to the leaders who can activate these ideas at their school sites
- Build your reputation as a trusted thought-leader in the sector
- Save on registration! Gain access to a special discounted rate made available exclusively to presenters at this year’s conference
But don't just hear it from us—here's what other California charter school leaders are saying about presenting at the CSDC Conference:
✅ Bring like-minded leaders together:
Presenting at the CSDC Conference gives you a unique opportunity to bring like-minded leaders together from across the state around a topic you have been working on. Not only do you get to share your experience, but you also get the perspective of your colleagues around your topic. — Casey Taylor, Executive Director, Achieve Charter Schools
✅ Feel energized, validated, and inspired:
Presenting at the CSDC Conference was an honor, a challenge, and a career highlight. It provided an opportunity to solidify our best practices, make meaningful connections, and build new partnerships. The experience left me feeling energized, validated, and inspired. — Andrew Crowe , Deputy Director, Scholarship Prep
✅ Connect with the decision-makers:
What I value most about presenting at the CSDC Conference is the opportunity to connect with charter school decision-makers and thought leaders in a deep and meaningful way. — Jerry Simmons, Partner, Young, Minney & Corr LLP
✅ Help more and more charter leaders track emerging issues:
It’s been a privilege to present at the CSDC Conference alongside Eric Premack and his team. In my experience, presenting provides a unique forum for us as legal counsel to interact together with schools in small groups on tough issues. CSDC's conference content is well-tailored to the emerging issues for California charter schools, and the conference seems to be growing. — Greta Procto, Partner, Procopio
✅ Highlight your school’s successful programs:
Presenting at the CSDC Conference provided an excellent forum to highlight one of our student programs and learn from other panelists and attendees about their best practices. — Dr. Lisa Lam, President/CEO, Lewis Center for Educational Research
✅ Surround yourself with those committed to student success:
I love presenting at this conference for several reasons. First, I look forward to being surrounded by people that are just as interested in student success as I am. Second, there is a clear sense of community at this conference. It’s as if everyone is there for the same exact reasons, which translates into an open willingness to share during conversations at lunch, in between sessions, waiting in lines, and just about anywhere else. Third, I, too, learn from the participants about how I can be of better support. That means I, too, grow from the experience. — Michael Walsh, CEO, Beacon Results
✅ Attendees really want to learn from you:
The CSDC Conference is a wonderful place to learn from and connect with charter school leaders. The topics are always timely and informative. The networking opportunities are fantastic. As a presenter, I have always noticed that sessions are well advertised and well attended. The work you put into preparing as a presenter is not wasted at this event. People really want to learn about what you are presenting. — Cynthia Rachel, Director of Communications and Development, IEM Charter Schools
✅ Help charter leaders identify and avoid hazards:
Presenting at CSDC’s conference offers immense value and opportunities for professionals in the charter community. It serves as a platform for sharing knowledge, networking, and fostering collaboration among like-minded individuals. Whether I am presenting or attending sessions, this unique experience enhances my personal and professional growth. In some small way, I hope that the content that I share contributes to school leaders having an increased knowledge of school hazards and how to avoid them. — Karen Bianchini, Managing Director, Risk Management, CharterSAFE
Submit Your Proposal
June 21 is the deadline for submitting your presentation proposal for the 2024 CSDC Conference in Sacramento.
Please contact us with any questions regarding the CFP process. We look forward to reviewing your proposal!
2024 CSDC Conference
November 18-20
SAFE Credit Union Convention Center
Sacramento, CA
Upcoming Deadlines
June 21 • Call for Proposals (CFP)
July 31 • Exhibitor & Sponsor Early Deadline
August 9 • Early Registration Deadline
