Competitive Events

The Job Interview Competition is an opportunity for FEA members to develop and practice their interview skills, as well as cover letter and résumé writing skills. In this competition, entrants apply for a position as a paraprofessional (position description can be found below). This includes submitting a cover letter explaining why the entrant is a good candidate for the position, as well as a résumé that details relevant work, volunteer, and educational experiences. The cover letter should complement – not duplicate – the entrant’s resume, explain the reasons for the entrant’s interest in the position and school, and identify his or her own most relevant skills or experiences. The letter should express a high level of interest and knowledge about the position.

Judges will review the cover letters and résumés and — just like any job application/interview process — candidates will be interviewed for a paraprofessional position. Interviews will take place on-site at the FEA Regional Conference at FIU. The judges will act as the school district’s hiring committee and will ask questions of the job candidates one at a time. Since high school graduates are eligible to be employed as paraprofessionals in many districts, this competition offers an immediate opportunity for a real-world application of the work entailed in participation.

This is an individual competition. Only one entry per chapter will be considered. Each chapter must select one student to represent them. Twelve (12) entries total will be accepted for this competition.  Entries will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Click here to download the guidelines for the 2023 Job Interview.

Self-composure, confidence, and the ability to clearly articulate and communicate information are valuable skills for all educators. The Public Speaking Competition is designed to highlight students who demonstrate these qualities by combining thoughtful preparation and confident delivery into an interesting presentation on a current education topic.

Students participating in this competition will compose and deliver a speech of approximately 400 to 600 words (three to five minutes when spoken aloud) on the assigned topic.  Competitors will deliver their speech in front of on-site judges.

This is an individual competition. Only one student entry per chapter will be considered. Each chapter must select one student to represent them. Twelve (12) entries total will be accepted for this competition.  Entries will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Click here to download the guidelines for the 2023 Public Speaking competition.

This competition offers students the opportunity to shadow and learn from highly skilled educators whose work takes place outside the core subjects. The purpose of this competition is to promote the impact that these instructional-support professionals play in the lives of students.  Instructional-support specialists include but are not limited to:

• Special Education Teacher
• Speech Pathologist
• School Psychologist
• Occupational Therapist
• School Administrator
• School Counselor
• School Social Worker
• Librarian
• Non-core Subject Teacher
• Curriculum Specialist

Students will select one specialized instructional-support specialist and will shadow (if possible) and interview him/her.  Students will receive permission from the professional to job shadow them for a total of two hours. The two hours are not expected to be consecutive; rather they are accumulated over a period of several days or weeks and occur when the professional is actively engaged in his/her work.

Contestants will complete and submit the following two career-exploration documents by the given deadline:

• Host educator’s verification form 
• Interview form 

Students participating in this competition will create a trifold poster display that includes research on the profession and their experience during the job shadow and interview.  Poster sessions are a common way to share educational research and developments at professional conferences. Judges and other FEA students will view poster boards during breakout sessions I and II at the conference.  All competitors must stand next to their posters to answer questions and share their experiences.

This is an individual competition. Only two entries per chapter will be considered. Each chapter must select one or two students to represent them. Twenty-four (24) entries total will be accepted for this competition.  Entries will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Click here to download the guidelines for the 2023 Spotlight on Education competition

This is an individual competition. The purpose of this competition is to promote original creative writing and illustration, to develop presentation skills and to focus on the importance of using informative/explanatory writing to increase the understanding of the reader about a certain topic.

Students participating in this competition will create an informational book about a science or social studies topic designed for a K – 5 grade audience (ages 5-11). Some suggested topics are:

The books will be displayed during breakout sessions I and II on the day of the conference.  Authors must stand next to their books and be prepared to answer questions from the on-site judges.

This is an individual competition. Books can only be authored by one competitor. Only two entries per chapter will be considered. Each chapter must select one or two students to represent them. Twenty-four (24) entries total will be accepted for this competition.  Entries will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Click here to download the guidelines for the 2023 Writing Creative Non-Fiction competition

The Leadership in Education Competition encourages inspired, proactive FEA members to make an impact in their communities. Competitors seek to exemplify sound leadership and a strong commitment to improving education in their communities. To enter this competition, FEA members must successfully complete a self-initiated service-learning project that meets several requirements:

• The project benefits individuals with special needs.
• The project cannot be part of the required curriculum for a course.
• The project requires a minimum of 20 hours of work.
• The project must be led by a single FEA member. (While collaboration is encouraged, only one student per project will be eligible to win the FEA scholarship.)

In addition to submitting the project portfolio, competitors must deliver a presentation to a panel of judges on the day of the FEA Regional Conference at FIU.

This is an individual competition. Only one student entry per chapter will be considered. Each chapter must select one student to represent them. Twelve (12) entries total will be accepted for this competition.  Entries will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Click here to download the guidelines for the 2023 Leadership in Education competition

This is a chapter competition. In this competition, the chapter must debate an ethical education-related dilemma. This competition requires members to think deeply about an ethical issue, employ critical-thinking skills, and use persuasive communication techniques to collaboratively debate an ethical dilemma.

To participate, each member of the chapter must first thoroughly consider the ethical issue and begin to form an individual position on the topic. Then the chapter members must debate the topic together, listening carefully to each other’s opinions. Through the discussion, the chapter members must come to a consensus on the topic and then prepare a 10-minute presentation stating their chapter’s view.

The chapter must work as a team to develop the presentation and then select at least four and no more than eight students from the chapter to present the chapter’s opinion and how it was reached to a panel of judges.

Four (4) entries total will be accepted. Entries will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis and will be limited to the number of participants.

Click here to download the guidelines for the 2023 Ethical Dilemma competition.

This is a chapter competition. In this competition, the chapter will explore deeply one of the disabilities identified in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and develop recommendations regarding effective educational supports for students with the disability. The competition guidelines will specify the disability on which this year’s competition will focus.

Students are encouraged to embark on the research using traditional sources as well as primary sources (ex. conducting interviews with individuals impacted by this disability or professionals who support individuals with this disability, etc.). Then team members should discuss the research to determine recommendations for their presentation. The chapter must work as a team to develop an 8-10-minute, research-supported presentation and then select at least two and no more than four students from the chapter to present the research and best practices to a panel of on-site judges.

Each chapter must submit only one entry for this competition. Four (4) entries total will be accepted. Entries will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis and will be limited to the number of participants.

Click here to download the guidelines for the 2023 Researching Learning Challenges competition.

This is a chapter competition. Students will develop a display that features the chapter’s mission and activities. The display is intended to highlight the chapter and school. Entries should also incorporate the conference theme, “Teachers are Out of this World!”

Submissions will be exhibited during the breakout sessions on the day of the FEA Regional Conference at FIU.

All high school chapters attending the conference are eligible to participate. Each chapter must submit only one display.

Click here to download the guidelines for the 2023 Chapter Display competition.