2025 MSAN Student Conference Offers Equitable Paths to ‘American Dream’

October 15, 2025   |   By Karen Rivedal, Office of Research & Scholarship

An estimated 200 high school students and their advisors representing eight states from across the 20-district MSAN network will gather in Arlington, Va., on Nov. 12–15 for the 26th annual MSAN Student Conference with the student-chosen conference theme, “I Am…The American Dream.”

The conference, offered every fall for high school students by the Wisconsin Center for Education Research’s Multicultural Student Achievement Network (MSAN), seeks to develop student leaders dedicated to developing solutions that eliminate racial disparities in schools and cultivate belonging, increase achievement, and expand opportunities for all students—starting with the students’ own schools. Each conference features an action-planning day, when students meet in district teams to identify a challenge and develop ideas and solutions to implement in their schools upon their return.

Each district team reports out their plan of action to address their school’s challenge at the end of the conference day for the entire gathering of students to hear.

“The action-planning piece is the most critical part of the conference. It is how we encourage students to think not only about the problems and challenges in their schools, but what they can actually offer and do to make things better,” said MSAN Executive Director Latoya Holiday.

Malcolm, an MSAN student and senior from Alexandria City Public Schools in Alexandria, Va.—which serves as the host school district for this year’s conference—said his team’s action plan might focus on ways to create more opportunities for students in his school to voice their ideas and opinions.

“Maybe a mentoring program, so students feel heard and supported in shaping positive changes at our school,” was another idea Malcolm said his team might explore.

The conference each year also features keynote speakers, peer connections, a visit to a nearby college/university and fun activities like a sundae bar and board games.

In a conference first, students this year will visit a higher education institution classified as a Historically Black College or University. Brielle Welch, director of equitable practice for Alexandria City Public Schools, predicted the planned visit to Howard University in Washington, D.C., would be a “memorable and powerful experience” for the students.

MSAN is a network of multicultural, small and mid-sized districts in the Midwest and on the East Coast—though membership is open to other locations—dedicated to elevating youth voices through partnership and research in an effort to realize the vision that all students experience an inclusive and excellent education. Since 1999, member districts have aimed to learn and work together to ensure all students have what they need to thrive and succeed.

Holiday leads MSAN, with a governing board of superintendents from member school districts, from the coalition’s headquarters in the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at UW–Madison, with MSAN Project Manager Connie Showalter.

“Our goal is to cultivate an environment where all attendees feel supported, empowered, and safe,” Showalter said. “We prioritize meaningful opportunities for students to network with peers from across the country, engage in enjoyable activities that foster lasting memories, and, most importantly, develop a strong sense of leadership and agency.”

Showalter and Holiday organize each conference with help from a staff-and-students planning team from the host member district, which changes every year. This year’s host, Alexandria City Public Schools, serves 16,300 students in 18 schools. The conference will be in a hotel in nearby Arlington, Va., just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.

“We believe it is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for the students that participate,” Holiday said. “The theme for this year of ‘I Am…The American Dream’ is very timely. We are at a moment in time in our country where we are all thinking about what it means to be American, what it means to include and create spaces and communities where everyone feels they belong. Our students recognize that. I love the fact that they are lifting that theme up for this year’s conference.”

Deciding to host the conference this year made sense, said Kennetra Wood, the Alexandria City Public Schools’ executive director of equity and Title IX coordinator.

“As a proud MSAN member for over 15 years, it is a natural extension of our long-standing commitment to the MSAN mission,” Wood said.

Welch said Alexandria itself was a great fit for the conference.

“Alexandria is full of rich history dating back to the foundation of this country,” she said. “Alexandria also has a rich history of social justice that exemplifies the kind of citizens that we want our MSAN students to become.”

Ra’Alim Shabazz, an MSAN student advisor in the Alexandria contingent, quoted Martin Luther King Jr., to explain why he planned to attend the conference.

“As Dr. King once so eloquently stated, ‘True peace is not merely the absence of tension, but the presence of justice,’” Shabazz said. “MSAN is uniquely suited to expose students, teachers and school administration to strategies to level the playing field and create equitable spaces for all students in order to facilitate justice.”

MSAN aims to keep membership and conference attendance accessible for school districts and regularly seeks sponsors and other support to help defray the costs of the conference. The partnership and support of organizations that share and embrace similar values helps MSAN continue to offer this invaluable learning experience to students. A commitment of partnership at any level is appreciated and will assist MSAN in providing a one-of-a-kind experience to student conference attendees. Please visit the MSAN Conference Sponsorship document for more information or contact MSAN to discuss your organization’s interests. All sponsors will receive recognition in accordance with the information included in the document. To register as an MSAN conference sponsor, visit MSAN’s registration form.

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About MSAN

MSAN’s mission is to build the capacity of students and educators to improve the educational experiences and outcomes of students of color by learning and leading together. For more information about MSAN, visit msan.wcer.wisc.edu.

About The Wisconsin Center for Education Research

The Wisconsin Center for Education Research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s #1 ranked public School of Education is one of the world's first and most productive education research centers. For over 60 years, it has supported scholars and practitioners in developing, submitting, conducting and sharing research, evaluation and development work in the education field.

WCER’s mission is to improve educational outcomes for diverse student populations, positively impact education practice and foster collaborations among academic disciplines and practitioners. Visit https://wcer.wisc.edu/ for more information.