INTERESTED IN PRESENTING AT THE 2025 CONFERENCE?

Sarasota, Florida | October 20-23, 2025

HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO PREPARE A PROPOSAL TO PRESENT:

To ensure highly engaging and meaningful sessions for conference attendees, ASN invites you to submit a presentation/session proposal for consideration. Prior to completing a submission, please review the following presenter information for our 2025 Conference- Circus & Beyond: Big Top, Bigger Arts. 

ABOUT THE 2025 CONFERENCE

Embrace the enchanting allure of Sarasota’s rich cultural heritage, white sandy beaches, and vibrant history in the Circus Arts. In the early 20th century, Sarasota became a significant hub for circus performers and organizations, attracting renowned circus families from all over the globe. With this new movement of artists relocating to Sarasota, the area quickly grew into not only a hub for Circus but also a bustling epicenter for the arts. John Ringling, of the Ringling Bros., and his wife, Mabel, came to Sarasota, for example, and their property is now a world-class museum complex dedicated to the circus arts, art history, and culture. This opened the door for Sarasota to become known both for its big top and its bigger arts.

In addition to its arts scene, Sarasota is known for its sandy beaches, delicious restaurants, and its picturesque sunsets. Circus & Beyond: Big Top, Bigger Arts will explore the fascinating intersection of circus traditions and contemporary artistic expressions, delving into the evolution of circus arts and their profound impact on modern creative landscapes. Conference participants will share best practices for arts innovation and collaboration to ensure student success and increase artistic opportunities.

SESSION FORMAT FOR ALL BREAK-OUT SESSIONS

All sessions for the 2025 conference will be 75 minutes in length.  Break-out sessions will be scheduled on Tuesday-October 21, Wednesday-October 22, and Thursday-October 23.  

CHOOSE A CONTENT PATHWAY-THEME

All proposed sessions must fit within an established content pathway (see list below). Please determine which pathway your session best aligns with and select only one content pathway.

1. Fund Development/Community Partnerships
2. Arts Advocacy
3. Innovative Arts Programming/Curriculum/Teaching Practices
4. Arts Integration (Whole school approach to promoting relationships and curriculum content between arts and academic teachers   and/or support whole school support of an arts integration model)
5. Innovative Leadership in Arts Focused Schools
6. Social Emotional Health and Mindfulness for Students and/or Staff

PARTICIPATION AND ENGAGEMENT

All proposed sessions should actively engage participants in hands-on experiences, collaborative challenges, in-depth discussions, and/or the development of new ideas and hands-on applications.

TIPS TO MAKE YOUR PROPOSAL STAND OUT

• Pick a topic that is timely, relevant, thought-provoking, and genuinely interests you. What challenges and successes are you witnessing on school campuses and how can those lessons be applied more broadly?
• Be clear and captivating in your title and description. A good title will invite the attendee to join by making the topic and coverage distinct and engaging. Make sure that your description supports the title.  Your form submission will be copied directly to our conference program so be thoughtful as you complete your proposal.
• Proofread and edit what you’ve submitted so reviewers know you’ve taken the time to perfect your submission.
• Do you have a captivating lesson for your students? Taking your peers through this lesson can be an excellent workshop experience for our members.

CRITERIA ARE USED TO REVIEW PROPOSALS

Presentation proposals should be timely, prepared, and carefully considered. The workshop experience should be interactive, and provide clear resources, takeaways, and action points for participants to apply within their own campus or organization. To ensure that every participant feels their time spent in workshops is valuable, reviewers will consider the following criteria when evaluating presentation proposals:

Relevance: The proposed session should interface with the felt needs, challenges, and opportunities in today’s schools, organizations, and society.  The session proposal aligns with the conference's overall theme.

Approach: The following should be clear: the session description and objectives; how the session adds value to the conference and serves attendees; who the target audience is; what modes of facilitation the presenters will use; and what takeaways participants can expect.

Creativity and Innovation: The session should bring to bear a new lens or perspective on its topic.

Demonstrated Expertise: The session should present original research, applied knowledge of (others’) recognized research or theory, models or use of evidence-based practices, personal mastery, and/or reflective practice.

Impact: The session should lend itself to professional or personal application. It should be designed to encourage attendees to contemplate follow-up, continued exploration, and action planning on various levels.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION PROCESS

All proposals must be submitted via the online Google form by April 15, 2025. All proposals should be completed in full and to the best of the presenter(s) ability. 

NOTIFICATION OF SELECTION

All proposals selected for presentation at the 2025 conference will be notified through email by May 31, 2025, of acceptance to present.