Washington School Counselor Association Conference

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

The Washington School Counselor Association is soliciting proposals for our annual conference March 3-5, 2026 at the Doubletree by Hilton Seattle Airport in Seattle, WA.

IMPORTANT DATES

October 16, 2026
Call for Proposals Closes at 11:59pm

November 18, 2026
Presenters Notified

Types of Proposals

We are accepting proposals for 60-minute breakout sessions and Graduate Student poster presentations.

Breakout Sessions will be sixty minute sessions promoting evidence-based programs in the domains of academic, college and career readiness, and social/emotional development highlighting the latest techniques and practices in school counseling. Presentations need to showcase proven programs, current research, resources, or skills of value to K-12 counselors as well as district personnel, graduate students, and school counselor educators.
Graduate Student Poster Presentations highlight research and work performed by graduate students in a school counseling program.

Call for Proposals Form Fields

Lead Presenter Name and Contact Information
Lead Presenter CV/Resume
Lead Presenter Bio (150 words or less)
Co-Presenter Name and Contact Information
Co-Presenter Bio (150 words or less)
Session Title
Session Description (150 words or less)
Session Audience (Elementary, Middle/Jr. High, High School, or All)
Session Tracks (Advocacy, College & Career Readiness, Dropout Prevention, Equity & Access, Leadership, Legal & Ethical, School Counseling Programs & Curriculum, Schoolwide Programs, Special Needs/Populations, Student Achievement & Success, Technology)
Learning Outcomes (2)

Suggested Topics

Motivational Interviewing
Sense of Belongingness
Drug &Alcohol-Substance Use
Cultural Responsiveness
Grief
SEL/ Supporting Adults in your Building (burnout)
HSBP
MTSS (expectations for school counselors, district rollout, nuts and bolts)
Suicide Prevention/intervention (keynote, pre-conference)
Templates for CSCP interactive session (CSCP 101 with tools-bingo)
Navigating School-Wide Dissension/ unifying the school (communicating in high-conflict environments)
Behaviorally Responsive Crisis Plan (compliance)
WEA union and collective bargaining process
SBOE update on FutureReady
Council of Presidents
Apprenticeship
Anxiety (coping card)
CSCP success and movement!
Negative thinking traps
Supporting students experiencing lack of resources with wraparound supports and resources

Guidelines, Rules, and Selection Criteria

The submissions collected from this Call for Proposals will be considered for breakout sessions only. We do not accept proposals for keynote speakers via the Call for Proposals.
Breakout sessions take place on March 4 and 5 and are 60 minutes long.
Presenters should plan to be available on any day for which WSCA assigns your session.
Proposal submission does not guarantee participation in the WSCA Conference.
Under no circumstances may a breakout session be used as a place for direct promotion of products or services for sale. Sales pitches disguised as presentations will not be considered.
Should you wish to sell products or services, you must purchase exhibit space and confine promotions and sales to the exhibit area. Visit https://www.wscaconference.org/sponsor for details.
All presenters must pay conference registration fees and register by the deadline of February 5, 2026 Selected presenters will be entitled to the reduced registration rate.
Only three presenters may appear on any proposal - one lead presenter and up to two co-presenters.
The reduced registration rate is limited to the maximum of two (2) presenters listed on the proposal.
Only presenters listed in the proposal will be entitled to the reduced registration rate.
An individual may not submit or appear on more than three proposals, either as lead presenter or as co-presenter.
WSCA does not pay ANY honoraria, speaker fees, or travel expenses to breakout session speakers. We hope the intangible benefits of being a part of our educational programming make the effort worthwhile for presenters.
Persons presenting at the conference are expected to use material and language that does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, physical ability, and/or sexual orientation.

SUBMISSION RULES

The individual submitting the proposal is considered the primary contact and is expected to provide information and updates to any listed co-presenters.
All WSCA Conference information and correspondence will be sent via email to the individual listed as the lead presenter only.
Presenters agree to abide by the terms of the copyright release in order to present.
Presenters agree to update their speaker profile in the conference app by January 29, 2027.
Presenters agree to provide their presentation materials electronically via the conference app by February 26, 2027.
Presenters agree to permit WSCA to provide their contact information to attendees.
If your proposal is selected, WSCA reserves the right to revise presentation titles, reassign the selected track, and/or edit the program summary for promotional and program materials.
WSCA reserves the right to cancel a session based on noncompliance with the session guidelines. This includes, but is not limited to: failure to register, failure to submit the required information, presenter changes, etc.

CLOCK HOURS WILL BE GRANTED TO CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS.