InterAct 2027 Proposal Overview

Suggested topics

Track 1: Interactions in Practice: CLASS Across Settings

This category explores how meaningful interactions and CLASS come to life across different settings, communities, and stages of implementation.

Sample Session Topics:

• • • • Deep dives into CLASS domains and dimensions
      • Successful CLASS implementation: What worked, what changed, and what we learned
      • Applying CLASS across infant, toddler, Pre-K, K–3, and other settings
      • CLASS in family child care and home-based programs
      • Supporting children with disabilities and individual needs through meaningful interactions
      • Connecting CLASS with curriculum, instruction, and social-emotional support
      • Maintaining observer accuracy, confidence, and CLASS expertise
      • Creative applications of CLASS across different programs and communities

Category 2: Coaching, Community & Educator Growth

This category focuses on how coaching, professional learning, and community build educator capacity and strengthen the people behind meaningful interactions.

Sample Session Topics:

• • • • Coaching strategies that build trust, reflection, and educator buy-in
      • Using CLASS data to inform coaching and professional development
      • Navigating challenging coaching conversations
      • Adapting coaching approaches for different educators and program models
      • Developing coaches, professional development providers, and internal CLASS leaders
      • Building educator capacity, confidence, and well-being
      • Creating communities of practice and opportunities for peer learning
      • Extending coaching and professional learning beyond one-time training
      • Stories of coaching approaches that have strengthened educator practice and outcomes

Track 3: Data & Continuous Improvement
This category focuses on using data and insights to understand what is happening, identify opportunities, and turn information into meaningful action.

Sample Session Topics:

• • • • Turning CLASS data into meaningful action
      • Moving from observation to improvement at the classroom, program, or system level
      • Using data to inform coaching, professional learning, and leadership decisions
      • Building a culture of continuous quality improvement
      • Making data more accessible and actionable for educators and leaders
      • Connecting CLASS data with educator, program, or child outcomes
      • Using data to understand progress and demonstrate impact
      • Research and evaluation related to interactions, implementation, and outcomes
      • Stories of how better access to data changed decisions, supports, or improvement efforts

Track 4: Systems, Leadership & Scale
This category explores how leaders build, sustain, and scale interaction-focused improvement across programs, organizations, communities, and systems.

Sample Session Topics:

• • • • Scaling CLASS across state and local systems
      • Successful implementation stories from states, districts, Head Start programs, and other organizations
      • Building sustainable CLASS implementation strategies
      • Aligning observation, coaching, professional learning, and continuous improvement
      • Aligning CLASS with QRIS and other quality improvement systems
      • Building strong partnerships across agencies, organizations, and communities
      • Policy and funding approaches that support quality interactions
      • Using data and insights to make stronger system-level decisions
      • Lessons learned from implementation at scale
      • Demonstrating the impact of CLASS across programs or systems

Track 5: Innovation & What’s Next

This category explores emerging tools, technologies, and approaches that can expand access to insight, expertise, support, and community while keeping people and meaningful interactions at the heart.

Sample Session Topics:

• • • • Practical applications of AI in early childhood education and professional learning
      • Technology-enabled coaching, feedback, and professional development
      • New ways to make CLASS data more visible, useful, and actionable
      • Tools that help educators and leaders better understand what is happening in their classrooms and programs
      • Using technology to reduce burden and make support more immediate
      • Expanding access to expertise, feedback, and professional learning
      • New approaches to connecting observation, data, coaching, and continuous improvement
      • Using technology to strengthen community and connection
      • Stories of how new tools or approaches have expanded what educators, coaches, or leaders are able to do
      • Exploring how technology can extend human expertise without replacing human relationships

Audience

InterAct brings together people working at different levels of early childhood and education systems. As you develop your proposal, think about who will benefit most from the conversation, experience, or lessons you have to share.

Our audience includes:

• • • State, regional, district, and system leaders
    • Program and organizational leaders and administrators
    • Coaches, professional development providers, and those supporting educator growth
    • CLASS observers, trainers, and others building or deepening CLASS expertise
    • Educators and others focused directly on strengthening interactions and practice

As part of your proposal, you’ll identify the audience your session is best suited for, as well as the appropriate level of CLASS experience.  The strongest sessions have a clear audience and provide that audience with ideas, strategies, or lessons they can take back to their work.

Presentation length

• Short (30 Minutes)
  Focused sessions designed to share a clear idea, story, or set of practical takeaways. Ideal for sharing highlights, introducing new concepts, or sparking engaging discussions on specific topics or ideas. 
• Standard (45-60 Minutes)
  Our most common session length, with time to explore a topic, share examples, and engage attendees through questions or discussion.
• Extended (90 Minutes)
  Highly interactive workshops designed for deeper exploration, skill-building, or application. Space is limited, so proposals should include clear learning outcomes and meaningful participant engagement. Workshop format only.

Session FormatS

• Listen and Learn 
  Traditional presentations or panel discussions with limited audience interaction focused on delivering information
• Participate and Share
  A mix of content and collaboration. Sessions are designed to actively involve the audience through discussions, polls, or group activities.
• Workshop 
  Interactive, hands-on sessions designed for skill-building and in-depth learning on a specific topic.

FAQs

• What makes a strong InterAct proposal? InterAct is shaped by people doing this work every day. Strong proposals:
  • Share real examples, lessons, or implementation experiences
  • Give attendees practical ideas they can apply
  • Have a clear audience and purpose
  • Demonstrate improvement, impact, or learning
  • Invite reflection or participation where appropriate
  You don’t need a perfect success story. Challenges, adjustments, and lessons learned can be just as valuable. It is a gathering from the field, for the field.
• When are proposals due? All proposals must be submitted by the end of the day on October 30, 2026.
• When will I find out if my proposal has been accepted? We will inform you if your submission is accepted on November 20, 2026.
• Who attends InterAct? InterAct brings together leaders and practitioners across early childhood and education systems, including state and local leaders, program administrators, coaches, professional development providers, CLASS observers and trainers, educators, and others working to strengthen interactions.
• Does my session need to focus only on CLASS? No. CLASS and meaningful interactions are central to InterAct, but sessions may also explore educator practice, systems improvement, data, coaching, leadership, innovation, and other topics relevant to our community. We simply ask that attendees can clearly connect what they learn back to their work. See last year's schedule for examples.
• What's the average session size? Sessions can range in size from 50 to 200 people.
• What sessions tend to resonate most with InterAct attendees? Attendees consistently value practical ideas, real examples, and opportunities to learn from others doing similar work.
  Strong sessions share not only what happened, but how: the challenges, decisions, adjustments, results, and lessons others can apply.
  For 2027, we’re especially interested in what’s working in the field, stronger implementation, turning insight into action, expanding educator support, and exploring what new tools and capabilities make possible.
• How are proposals selected? A small group of reviewers will blindly review all proposals against a rubric. This means that reviewers will not see who submitted proposals until final selections have been made. They will look for interactive, audience-relevant, and purposeful sessions.
• How should I choose a category? We know many topics overlap, so please select the category that most closely reflects what you want attendees to learn.
• Do I need to submit my slides with my proposal? No. We’ll collect final presentation materials from accepted presenters before the Summit.  If you already have materials that help explain your proposal, e include them.
  
• Will sessions be shared during/after the Summit? Yes, slides and any additional resources will be added to the event platform for attendees to access.
• Do presenters get a registration discount? Yes,  if your session is selected, you'll receive a discount on your Summit registration.