Conference Attendance
Do you have support from your administration / board to attend conferences?
Are you concerned about keeping that support?
With ever greater school cost cutting measures, some teachers are finding it increasingly difficult to get permission and monetary support to attend conferences. In addition, some administrators and board members question the value of conference attendance. Too often, they know you are going but then they don’t see / know the result.
So first and foremost it is important that after a conference your administration and board members actually see some benefits. Here are a few suggestions:
· Offer to present a session at an upcoming district in-service for teachers who did not attend the conference. Be prepared. Present the best of the best. Be sure to distribute workshop evaluations and give the results to your administration.
· Invite an administrator to your class to see a new idea/project/activity that you have implemented—one that you brought back from the conference. (Be sure you have worked out all of the bugs first.) Even if the administrator doesn’t have time to come—she/he will get the message.
· After trying out a new activity or project, ask your students to write about it and select the best one to be published in the school paper. Be sure to include mention that the activity was presented at a particular conference.
· Write a short blurb about the conference and benefit for the school newspaper. (Some teachers are shy about this…but this is not self aggrandizement!) It is good for parents and students to know that their teachers are up-to-date! It is good for the school and your program.
· After trying out a new activity or project, ask your students to write about it and select the best one to be published in the school paper. Be sure to include mention that the activity was presented at a particular conference.
· Use your department website to feature information about the conference and resulting class activities. Include samples of student work to highlight the result.
· Get on the school board agenda. At the meeting, tell them about the benefit to students and how what you learned is making a difference in your classes. If this is intimidating to do on your own—get together with your colleagues and do a short, joint presentation. Often board meetings are covered by newspapers and / or TV which means that the community will also be informed.
The important thing is to be proactive. Don’t wait until the privilege is gone. If you have other suggestions, please contact us…
