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Virginia School Consortium for Learning

The Virginia School Consortium for Learning
ANNUAL STUDENT LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

“Cultivating Just & Joyful Schools”

2020-2021

Friday, March 19, 2021
9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Virtual Conference

PLANNING & PREPARATION for FACULTY ADVISORS

This year’s Student Leadership Conference will be held as a Virtual event, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Friday, March 19, 2021.  Since the conference is being held virtually, Faculty Advisors will not need to arrange for transportation to attend the conference.  However, Faculty Advisors will still need to ensure that students have permission from their parents and the school to participate, via Zoom, in this virtual event.

If your school would like to participate in the VaSCL 20-21 Student Leadership Conference, you will also need to complete the following tasks:

Student Participants

Select THREE - FIVE STUDENTS (representing grades 9-12) to attend the conference.

Since there are over seventy school divisions which are members of VaSCL, even though the conference will be virtual, we do still have to limit the number of participants that each school can bring to the Student Leadership Conference. Please NOTE: If you have more than five students who would like to participate in the SLC, please see #2 (below) for a way in which you can add more students to your school’s team.

You may use any method you wish to select your team of students, but please consider the following:

  • Will the students feel comfortable participating in a virtual event and willing to engage in activities (video on; not muted) with the 20 other students in their group during Breakout Room Sessions?
  • Are the students comfortable talking and sharing their ideas? Will they participate actively and voice their thoughts clearly in these small group discussions with students from other schools?
  • Are the students good listeners? Will they be able to bring back ideas from the conference which they can share with other team members and the rest of your school community?
  • Do the students represent a cross-section of different ages and the various social groups within your school?
  • Have the students demonstrated strong leadership qualities or shown the potential to be influential in the future with their peers and with faculty and administrators at your school?

Share Fair Presentations & Creative Expression Presentations

Decide whether or not your school would like to consider creating and submitting a SHARE FAIR PRESENTATION
and/or a CREATIVE EXPRESSION PRESENTATION (NOT required).

One of the most valuable parts of the SLC each year is the opportunity it provides for students to learn from each other about programs and activities that are working well at other schools. This exchange of ideas happens informally throughout the conference, but it will be “formalized” this year through 3-5 minute video-recordings of Share Fair Presentations, which will be submitted two weeks before the conference, and which will focus on projects and events which increase the acceptance and inclusion of all students in the school community.

The virtual format of this year’s Student Leadership conference has enabled us to add a new feature - Creative Expression Presentations, which will be 2-5 minute video-recordings that highlight the artistic talents and creative accomplishments of students. These presentations could focus on student performances - of music, drama, poetry, or inspirational speeches - or they could feature displays of student art work - paintings, drawings, sculptures, or crafts. The goal of the Creative Expression Presentations is to build on students’ interests and passions, by allowing them to share artistic creations that in some way reflect the conference focus on cultivating just and joyful schools.

We hope that your school will consider creating and submitting one or both of these short, pre-recorded video presentations, which students from other schools can reflect on, learn from, and be inspired by. Not only will producing a Share Fair Presentation or a Creative Expression Presentation be a meaningful learning experience for your students, it will also contribute to the success of this year’s SLC. If your school does take on this project, you will be rewarded by being given the opportunity to register two additional participants for each presentation that is submitted (for a total of up to nine student participants).

We have compiled several resources to help schools with the process of planning, creating, and submitting short video-recordings of Share Fair Presentations and Creative Expression Presentations.

We have also created a separate website, which contains detailed instructions for the process of creating and submitting presentations, as well as other information on the VaSCL SLC.

On the online form which is used to register participants for the conference, schools are asked to indicate whether or not they are considering submitting one or both of these video-recorded Presentations.

Please NOTE: You will not be asked to make a commitment to submit a presentation. Indicating an interest in producing a presentation will merely enable us to assist you with the creation and submission process.

Schools which are intending to submit a presentation are requested to complete a Presentation Proposal Form by Friday, February 12. The deadline for submitting the video recording of your final Presentation will be Friday, March 5.

If a school does submit one or both of these Presentations, the Faculty Advisor will be contacted when the submission is received, and given the opportunity to register up to two additional student participants for the SLC for each presentation they have submitted (for a total of up to nine students on your school team).

Senior Facilitators

Determine if there are SENIORS on your school’s team of participants who would like to volunteer to
take on a leadership role at the conference by serving as SENIOR FACILITATORS (NOT required).

If you have any Seniors who will be participating in the conference, they can choose to take on the extra responsibility of serving as one of two Senior Facilitators for a Breakout Group of twenty other students that will meet several times throughout the day of the conference. Senior Facilitators will be asked to take the lead in engaging all students in their group as they respond to the keynote addresses and participate in several different activities through which the theme of cultivating just and joyful schools will be explored.

All Seniors who wish to serve as Senior Facilitators will be REQUIRED to participate in a Facilitator Training Session, held virtually, via Zoom, on Saturday, March 6, from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm.

On the registration form, there will be an opportunity to indicate whether or not seniors are willing to volunteer to take on the extra responsibility of serving as a Senior Facilitator. A personal email address and phone number will be requested for each Senior Facilitator, so we can communicate with them about their duties. (If that is not possible, a Faculty Advisor can serve as the point of contact for a Senior Facilitator.)

In identifying Seniors who might be suited to serve as Senior Facilitators, please consider the following:

  • Is the Senior responsible and mature enough to follow through on commitments?
  • Is the Senior a good listener and confident speaker?
  • Will the Senior be effective in encouraging other students to open up, share their ideas, and participate actively in Breakout Group discussions and activities?
  • Will the student be able to take good notes and share that information with others?
  • Can the student participate in a Facilitation Training Session, held virtually, via Zoom, on Saturday, March 6, from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm.   Please NOTE: This Facilitation Training is required.

Registration

REGISTER your school’s team by the DEADLINE of FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2021.

You should receive a confirmation email if your registration is successfully submitted.

We will NOT be able to accommodate schools which have not submitted their registration by February 26.

Please NOTE:

1. Substitutions for specific participants can be made after the school’s registration has been submitted. If necessary, you can use “place holder” names to reserve the correct number of spaces for your participants.

2. There is NO CHARGE for your school to participate in this conference. However, if your team is not able to attend, pleased do cancel your registration by Friday, February 26, if possible.

A great deal MORE SPECIFIC INFORMATION about the VaSCL SLC and the ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM are available under the PD Conferences Tab on the VaSCL Website: www.vascl.org

Preparation of Team

Meet with your school team prior to the conference.

You should discuss the following in your pre-conference meeting(s) with the members of your team:

  • The activities and programs in your school which are particularly popular and successful in meeting the needs and desires of students.
  • The issues and problems that students would like help in addressing at your school.
  • An overview of what will take place during the conference and student responsibilities during the conference. (Faculty Advisors will be sent additional details about the conference schedule and activities by Monday, March 1.)

Questions, Concerns, Suggestions??

If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please contact the VaSCL Student Leadership Conference Coordinator, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..