Call for Proposals

charting our future 2025

Request for Proposals​

Greater Tacoma Convention Center | April 8-9, 2025

arrow-icon-size3 Submit Proposal

The Foundation for Tacoma Students invites you to submit a proposal for our fifth annual Charting Our Future conference. This two-day event convenes education leaders, advocates, and allies to share knowledge, foster collaboration, and drive systemic change.

Our community’s goal is clear: By 2030, 70% of students will earn a postsecondary credential within six years of high school graduation. This target guides our collective efforts to build a more equitable and inclusive education system.

We encourage you to share your expertise, research, and insights through compelling presentations, discussions, and innovative tools that contribute to this vision.

Benefits of Presenting:

Amplify Your Impact

Share your work with a dedicated audience of education professionals and decision-makers.

Expand Your Network

Connect with individuals and organizations driving educational equity.

Waived Registration

Enjoy complimentary conference registration.

RFP Opens: Thursday, October 24, 2024
RFP Deadline: Thursday, January 30, 2025
Applicant Notification: by Tuesday, February 25, 2025.
Conference Dates: April 8-9, 2025

Facilitated Roundtable: Interactive sessions where participants share practices, expertise, research, and experiences. These discussions offer opportunities for collaborative problem-solving, idea generation, and exploring diverse perspectives.

Panel Discussion: Moderated conversation offering diverse viewpoints on a single topic. Panelists should represent different institutions, roles, programs, disciplines, or modalities.

Workshop: Hands-on sessions that focus on practical learning and skill-building.

  • Collective Impact
  • Investing in Communities
  • Policy and Practice
  • Data, Research, and Evaluation

We welcome proposals that prioritize collaboration, interactive discussion, and audience engagement. Proposals should highlight key lessons learned, innovative strategies, challenges encountered, and successful interventions. Preference will be given to submissions that present a cross-organizational approach, incorporate diverse perspectives, and engage the audience in thoughtful discussion.

The application form is divided into four steps. We strongly encourage you to prepare your answers in a separate document and submit your final proposal in one seating.

STEP 1: ORGANIZER & PRESENTERS

  • Appoint a primary contact: Designate a session organizer to facilitate communication and ensure the session’s success.
  • Provide presenter information: Include each presenter’s name, title, and organization. If your proposal is accepted, be prepared to submit a headshot for each presenter.

STEP 2: TITLE & LOGISTICS

This step forms the foundation of your session proposal. Your selections will help effectively communicate your proposal’s value to the community.

  • Choose a clear and concise title that reflects your core message and appeals to your target audience.
  • Identify the track that best aligns with your session content. If your session spans multiple tracks, select the most relevant one.
  • Select a format that suits your content and presentation style (e.g., facilitated roundtable, panel discussion, workshop).
  • Indicate the focus area your content covers (e.g., early learning, K-12, postsecondary, workforce, convergence).
  • Specify the intended audience to help attendees understand who will benefit most from your session

STEP 3: DESCRIPTION & KEY TAKEAWAYS

Provide a clear and compelling overview of your session content (maximum 500 words). Attendees appreciate actionable insights they can apply to their work or professional development. Your description should communicate the unique value and practical benefits of attending your session.

  • Focus on depth over breadth to deliver a meaningful experience.
  • Spell out acronyms the first time they appear.
  • Advertorial or brand-centered proposals are not permitted.
  • Assume attendees are familiar with the current education landscape, and focus on the specific content of your session rather than broad statements about education trends.
  • We reserve the right to edit approved proposals for clarity and consistency.

STEP 4: REVIEW & SUBMIT

  • Proofread and double-check for accuracy
  • Save your application frequently to avoid losing unsaved responses

Proposals are evaluated by a committee based on the following criteria:

  • Quality and Clarity: Clear summary of topic, approach, and outcomes.
  • Audience Engagement: Opportunities for interaction and discussion.
  • Speaker Diversity: Representation in perspectives, gender, ethnicity, and employment. We understand that some sessions work best with full representation of a particular group and will review these on a case-by-case basis.

Contact:

For any questions, please reach out to us at conference@graduatetacoma.org and a member of our conference planning team will respond to you promptly.

Charting Our Future is presented and hosted by the Foundation for Tacoma Students. Our mission is to build and strengthen a community-wide movement to help every child achieve success from cradle to college and career.

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