Chaperone Information – Student Conference

Required Forms and Documents

• A Chaperone Registration Form must be completed for each chaperone attending. After the forms are complete, please give them to the district staff person who will complete the online registration.
• MSAN Pre-Conference Handbook including required consent, emergency contact, and medical information forms ENGLISH (PDF) | SPANISH (PDF) | ARABIC (PDF)
• Chaperone Expectations & Important Notes

Pre-Conference Required Materials

Required Pre-Conference Materials and Guiding Questions

Guidelines for MSAN Student Conference Team Selection

MSAN’s core values include elevating student voice and embracing collaboration with students.  In service to these values and mission, MSAN is committed to creating opportunities for students to offer important perspectives and insights into improving the educational experiences of students of color in their schools and districts. To this end, MSAN holds an annual conference to strengthen the leadership skills of students and facilitate action planning for local change.

During the annual conference teams of students from MSAN member districts:

• network with students from across the country and engage in discussions about challenges and barriers students of color face in their schools and districts,
• share ideas and collaborate with school staff to craft solutions and strategies to mitigate challenges and eliminate barriers,
• develop plans of action to implement these strategies for change and share their collaborative work with the leaders of their schools and districts,
• learn from engaging speakers and individuals leading change in their fields and local contexts,
• participate in a college tour and gain exposure to a college/university partnering with the MSAN host district.

Conference Team Selection

Each district team should consist of 6‐8 students and 2‐3 chaperones. Registration costs for up to ten (10) attendees from a district are $100/person. If a district would like to send more than ten (10) students and chaperones an additional registration fee per person will be charged.  Please consider the following when selecting the students who will attend:

Student Selection:

• Your team should include students who represent the diverse racial and ethnic demographics of your district.
• Your team should consist of students from across the spectrum of academic achievement and should not just include high-achieving and highly involved student leaders. Districts should also consider including “promising scholars” who show academic promise and leadership potential but may not have traditionally been given access to opportunities like MSAN.
• Students should demonstrate leadership potential in school and/or their community and have a desire to help improve the experiences and outcomes for students of color at their school.
• Student participants can be freshmen, sophomores, juniors, or seniors.
• Student participants should be able to act responsibly and with maturity at an off‐campus, out‐of‐state event such as the MSAN Student Conference. Student expectations and responsibilities are outlined in the Conference Handbook and should be reviewed with all students before the conference.

Chaperone Selection:

• Chaperones must meet with their student conference team before the conference to review the conference schedule, complete the pre‐conference assignment(s), and review conference rules/expectations.
• During the conference, chaperones are expected to be present and full participants in all conference events and activities. Chaperones are responsible for students at all times during the conference.

Conference Preparation

An electronic copy of the Student Conference Handbook will be provided to all chaperones and must be reviewed by chaperones and students before conference arrival. Conference parental consent forms are included in the handbook.

District Follow‐Up

The following information provides a few suggestions for ways in which Governing Board members and members of the Research Practitioner Council can support local student teams.

• Arrange times for the conference team to share their experiences and action plans with district staff and leadership, including the school board.
• Consider ways to integrate their work and action planning with other ongoing efforts to advance equity in your district.
• Engage the teams in ongoing discussions and planning for district work to improve access, opportunity, and experiences of students of color.
• If your district has students attending from multiple schools, convene the teams who have attended and facilitate opportunities for teams to compare action plans and mutually support implementation at their respective schools.
• Find ways to publicly recognize the teams for their work, particularly among their peers.