Wanted: Workshop Proposals

Share your expertise, experience and insights with school board members and administrators by presenting a training program at Workshop 2010. This year, it is more important than ever for school officials to share effective programs with their educational colleagues.

Workshop – to be held in Somerset on Oct. 19 and 20 – is the major conference for New Jersey school board members and administrators. Workshop is jointly sponsored by NJSBA, the New Jersey Association of School Administrators and the New Jersey Association of School Business Officials.

Presenters are needed for the following programs:

Action Labs These 90-minute programs emphasize active participation, with the majority of the program devoted to hands-on tasks. Action Labs are generally limited to 30 to 50 participants.

Group Sessions The larger training programs at Workshop, Group Sessions provide information on topics such as best practices, education philosophy, and contrasting viewpoints on educational issues. At least a third of the 90-minute sessions are devoted to questions and answers. The format may be a single speaker, a panel, a debate, or some other structure limited to three presenters.

Roundtables Exemplary programs that are integral parts of a school district’s curriculum are showcased at Roundtables. These sessions also highlight programs that address areas such as administration, counseling, co-curricular activities, school construction, and professional development. Presenters sit at tables that seat an additional eight to nine people at a time. Each Roundtable may have no more than two presenters. Attendees move from table to table during the hour to ask questions and informally discuss the advantages of the program.

Proposal Forms Program Proposal Forms can be found under the What’s New section of NJSBA’s Web site. The forms ask applicants to describe the program, objectives, presenters, and, if applicable, the activities.

Action Labs and Group Sessions will be placed in topic strands, such as curriculum, school law, school finance. Applicants are asked to indicate the strand that they believe their program best fits into. Strands are listed in the online proposal form.

All Workshop program submissions will receive equal consideration. Proposed programs will be considered for inclusion at the conference to the extent that they relate to the topic selected, have clearly stated objectives, are relevant in terms of the skills to be learned or the information to be conveyed, and provide for hands-on participation if the proposal is an Action Lab.

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