LDOE opens call for Teacher Leader Summit 2026 presenters; key dates, deck rules outlined

Mia Matherne, executive director of teaching and learning at the Louisiana Department of Education, told prospective presenters in a webinar that Teacher Leader Summit 2026 will be held May 26–28 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans and invited submissions for breakout sessions.

"We at the LDOE are certainly thankful for your partnership, and we could not do this without you," Matherne said, opening the webinar and outlining the call-for-proposals process. The event theme is “Big ideas start here,” which the department described as celebrating educators as innovators who turn ideas into classroom impact.

The summit team asked presenters to design 70-minute sessions that follow the High Quality Professional Learning (HQPL) cycle. The department said the first three steps of the HQPL cycle—define the purpose, receive new learning, and internalize in practice—must be clearly observable during the session, and presenters should provide next steps for implementation and ways to assess impact after participants return to their schools.

Matherne said reviewers will prioritize sessions that align to at least one of the LDOE’s stated priorities: early childhood leading to kindergarten readiness; literacy instruction aligned to the science of reading; math instruction from foundational to advanced skills; meaningful high school experiences; an effective teacher for every student; and expanded educational choice for students and families.

Applicants must submit a completed slide deck using the Teacher Leader Summit 2026 template and include facilitator notes on every slide. "Please be sure, this is very important, that your Google Slides, when you do create them, you go into your share settings and you set it as anyone with the link can view," Matherne said. The department asked that submitted decks be polished and largely final; accepted presentations may require only minor revisions.

Other technical and format requirements noted on the webinar:

- Session length: 1 hour and 10 minutes (70 minutes) with design that avoids "sit-and-get" slide-heavy presentations and builds time for active learning and collaboration. - Required template slides: cover slide with session title; presenter information; education priorities; HQPL visual; session content; contact/closing slide. These template slides must not be deleted. - Media and links: any linked media must be accessible and functional for reviewers. - Proprietary decks: presenters must indicate if a deck cannot be shared after the summit.

Key dates and support offerings announced during the webinar include:

- Application platform (Session Board, an extension of the Cvent app) was anticipated to post by Oct. 30, 2025. - Decks and proposals: submission window open through Dec. 5, 2025 (final upload deadline listed as 12/05/2025). - Office hours for applicants: Oct. 29 and Nov. 19, 2025, to ask alignment or technical questions. - Notification of acceptance: Feb. 13, 2026. Registration opens Feb. 16, 2026; approved presenters will learn whether their registration fee is waived before registration opens. - Mandatory presenter webinars: scheduled in February and May (dates/times to be provided); attendance is required.

On a participant question about an April copy‑editing deadline, Matherne said the department assigns an LDOE point of contact to each accepted session who will work with presenters through a post-selection copy-editing process to address grammatical edits and minor content alignment before the live presentation.

Materials (slides, the submission guide and the webinar recording) will be posted to the Teacher Leader Summit landing page; additional questions should be sent to ldoeevents@la.gov.

No formal votes or policy changes were made during the webinar; the session was informational and focused on submission guidance and timelines.