Conferences & Networks
AMSD/BrightWorks Annual Conference
Over 160 attendees participated at the annual AMSD/BrightWorks Policy Conference held on November 11, 2025.
Charting the Cs Annual Conference
The 2026 Charting the Cs Conference will tentatively take place during the week of April 23-30.
Charting the Cs is the only fully accessible education conference of its kind in the nation! The 2025 conference was hosted at Madden’s in Brainerd, and the theme was “To Literacy and Beyond.”
The event kicked off with the Student and Family Summit on Sunday, April 27, 2025, which provided accessible activities for students, while family members and family support members attend informational sessions and training. Twenty-six families from across the state participated.
The Main Conference took place April 28 through April 30, 2025, with a focus on professional development in areas of literacy development and instruction for students with low incidence disabilities. Four hundred sixty-five people participated in the Main Conference.
Homeschool Liaison Network
School district liaisons to families who are homeschooling are invited to join in the collegial sharing of ideas, resources and concerns through the BrightWorks Homeschool Liaison Network.
Meetings take place virtually from 1:00-2:30 pm with the exception of the April 15th meeting, which will be hybrid.
Meeting dates: 9/10/25, 11/12/25, 1/7/26, and 4/15/26.
Metro Area Equity Leaders Network
Metro Area Equity Leaders (MAEL) is a network of equity leaders who come together to network, collaborate and support on another with a collective voice to advocate around strategies to move Equity work forward by:
- Cultivating equitable learning environments where students, families and staff feel valued as collaborative partners.
- Creating welcoming and collaborative schools and work environments, ensuring that every student regardless of race, religion, socio-economic status or gender-identity has equitable access to a quality education and opportunities for academic growth.
- Combat racism, discrimination and bias in our schools.
This group meets once a month from October to May. Each session is hosted by a different district each month with guest speakers and networking opportunities.
Meetings are in person and take place on Fridays from 9:30-11:30 am.
Meeting dates: 10/10/25, 11/7/25, 1/16/26, 1/13/26, 4/3/26, and 5/8/26
Contact Brittany Stepan at brittany.stepan@brightworksmn.org to join this network.
Contact
Brittany Stepan
Program/Communications Coordinator
brittany.stepan@brightworksmn.org
612-638-1526
Participants at the 2024 AMSD/BrightWorks Conference listen to the keynote panel.