Elementary schools across the United States will annually host an assembly where the whole school will gather to hear a guest speaker or see an educational presentation. These type of programs usually run about an hour and depending on the size of your venue, you can probably get the whole school to particpate instead of breaking up the presentation by grade levels.

If your grade school is interested in hosting a school assembly, here are some suggestions as you plan your event.

1. Get the most out of your event – Try and book your assembly in the morning and see if you can get the presenter to do something in the afternoon as well. This is especially good if your school is big enough to have two or three assemblies in a single day.

2. Plan around a special event – Look on the school districts calendar and figure out a day where you can piggy back off of a special event during the year. For example, most schools will have state testing and it would be a good idea to bring a youth speaker to motivate students to perform their best on the test. Another event that occurs every October is called Red Ribbon Week where students get to learn about staying away from drugs and alcohol.

3. Know the needs of your school – If your school is dealing with a crisis or kids are dealing with a bully and you don’t know how to handle it, educate all students by booking a school bullying speaker as a neutral person who can address the issue. Not only that but the speaker can make learning about a serious issue fun and entertaining so that the message sticks.

4. Stay within budget – Some schools budget for assemblies and some don’t, just like field trips. However there are so many ways to gather funding for an assembly and it’s worth it to invest in your students.

Get your students excited about school again by hosting an assembly at your Elementary school and bringing in a youth motivational speaker to keep your kids on the edge of their seats.