The K–12 Conference brings together admission directors, IT directors, heads of school, educators, financial managers, marketing and communication experts, and many more to discuss trends, best practices, and outcome-based solutions that connect and power your whole school. This is your opportunity to help lead the conversation.

We're excited to announce that this year's conference content committee is led by our friends at Educational Collaborators, a national consulting organization comprised of the best practitioners in the field of education. 

CALLING ALL SPEAKERS

Interested in speaking at Blackbaud's K–12 Conference?

Speakers of all experience levels and backgrounds are welcome to apply. We can't wait to hear what great ideas you have to share.

PERKS OF SPEAKING

In addition to bragging rights (and building your personal brand), you will get to showcase your school's story in front of thousands of
K–12 professionals. Our speakers will also receive exclusive speaker training, 1:1 support, and a special speaker gift kit.

Submit a session

  • Exclusive speaker training

    Our video production team will guide you through recording process.

  • 1:1 Support

    Consult a content specialist at Educational Collaborators to help bring your session a life.

  • A special speaker gift kit

    Get accepted and unbox a surprise for sharing your story!

Session Format

There are three session formats we are looking to fill with external speakers:

5-15 min Recording

Quick tips that SHOW how you have helped your school innovate, increase operational efficiency, deliver programs, or attract and retain families!

30-min Talk

under  30 minutes

Individual or co-speakers provide deep insights or best practices on a specific topic(s).

Discussion Panel

under  30 minutes

Three or four subject matter experts and a moderator discuss a specific topic for up to 30 minutes.

Session Tracks

If your content doesn't seem to fit one of our established tracks, choose the best match during the application process and be sure to include a detailed description for your session. We will reach out with questions and move your application to the correct track if needed.

Recruiting, Admissions and Enrollment

From school website to your application experience and beyond, we're looking for sessions on attracting and retaining families or strategies for running a successful enrollment season.

Business Office, Billing and Aid

We'd love to hear how you've simplified or streamlined your tuition, billing or financial aid processes or created an efficient and transparent business office.

Trusted experiences

Learn the best practices for building experiences that your customers can trust. Be more prepared to build reliable experiences that meet customer expectations, maintain privacy, and work in highly regulated industries.

What we're looking for:

  • Best practices
  • Customer stories
  • Thought leadership

Technology and Innovation

Looking for exciting ideas around adopting new technology, creating an engaging parent experience, or even growing the brand of your school through innovative ideas.

Student and Learning Management

We're excited to hear about how you are improving learning outcomes for your students and equipping teachers to be successful.

Business value with Twilio

The most successful companies in the world are fueled by amazing customer experiences. These sessions will showcase innovative customer engagements built by developers. You'll learn how to leverage Twilio to optimize revenue channels, decrease costs, and manage risks.

What we're looking for:

  • Customer stories

Additional Details

Evaluation Criteria

Session proposals will be reviewed and evaluated using the following criteria:

  • Quality of content: Reduced session lengths and virtual attendee fatigue call for concise and compelling sessions.
  • Relevance to audience: Content should examine and explore the needs, challenges, and opportunities K–12 schools face today and in the future.
  • Approach: Session descriptions, target audience, level of expertise, and key learning takeaways are clearly articulated.
  • Creativity and innovation: Engaging ways to interact with the audience and/or new perspectives on topics are delivered.
  • Impact: Session provides practical application and encourages attendees to take action.
     

Speaker Expectations

Approved speakers should comply to the following guidance: 

  • Be available this spring to pre-record their presentation. Speakers will have production support.
  • Get engaged! Help spread the word about your session through your social media networks to increase attendance and generate excitement around your topic and the conference. 
  • Join us live. Sessions will have scheduled air times during which speakers can answer questions online via chat.
  • Meet deadlines. All deadlines will be outlined in the online Speaker Resource Center once speakers are approved.
  • Agree to our speaker release. We intend to make presentations available for viewing after the event and will release select recordings for promotional and educational use.

Don't wait!

Due to the competitive selection process, we encourage all interested speakers to submit their proposals as early as possible.

Submit a session

If you need assistance or have any questions regarding speaking opportunities for this event, please email: k12conference@blackbaud.com.