Spring 2016 Member Meeting Invitation to Register & Participate

Transcription

1 February 23, 2016 Memo To: Collaborative Members and Associates From: Lauren Katzman, Executive Director Subject: Spring 2016 Member Meeting Invitation to Register & Participate Registration is now open for our Spring 2016 Member Meeting in Los Angeles, California. The meeting will be hosted by the Compton Unified School District and will be held at the Omni Los Angeles from May 4 7. The primary topical focus is. As with all of our semi-annual meetings, our Los Angeles gathering will provide opportunities for Collaborative Members and Associates to learn about practices that reflect contemporary understandings of how to build capacity to educate students with disabilities in district, and further, in their neighborhood schools. Participants will hear and learn from a nationally recognized keynote speaker who will be announced in the near future, as well as from their colleagues in Member Districts across the country. We all know individual schools with the capacity to provide strong inclusive and effective special education supports and services for all students. It is more difficult to find school districts with such systemic capacity. Too often districts rely on individual schools, administrators, or teachers to provide effective special education services and supports to some students while others might receive less effective supports in the district or are sent to an outside provider. Also too often culturally and linguistically diverse students disproportionately receive less effective services. Our goal in this meeting is to better understand how to create equitable and effective district-wide, systemic, and inclusive special education supports and services. In this meeting we are asking how to build a continuum of supports and services that improve outcomes equitably across the district. We want to know how districts raise academic achievement, how they decrease suspensions and expulsions, and how they improve graduation and post secondary options for all students, particularly those with significant mental health challenges, emotional-behavioral disabilities, or multiple disabilities, for whom many districts struggle to educate and rely on out-of-district placements. How have you developed district capacity with your colleagues who are not in special education? How have you included families? What collaborative partnerships, systems, and resources are critical? Our Spring 2016 Meeting will highlight these efforts and promises to be a valuable experience in leadership development that you will not want to miss. Given the significance of the topic, I encourage you to invite your colleagues who might benefit from the concentration of this topic, including those who focus on Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, district strategy, school climate, and curriculum. The formal portion of our meeting will open at 1:30 pm on Thursday, May 5, and adjourn the morning of Saturday, May 7. As usual, pre-meeting sessions are being planned for Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. More detailed information about these sessions is included with the attached Preliminary Agenda as well as our Registration instructions and Travel Policy. I look forward to seeing you in Los Angeles in May!

2 Spring 2016 Member Meeting It is important for us to know if you and/or designated representatives will be joining us in Los Angeles in May. Please read the following steps carefully: Step 1: Register Please visit and log in to the member section of our website at to register before April 11, Upon receipt of your registration, an confirmation will be sent to the member or associate member account. ALL member districts will receive one free registration to the meeting. Any subsequent registrations will be charged $200 if attendees register before April 11. Beginning 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time on April 11, there will be a charge of $300 per registration. Registration fees cover participant materials, breaks, opening reception, and Friday luncheon. If a district is selected as a concurrent presenter, an additional registration will be waived. In the event a participant needs to cancel, registration fees are non-refundable beginning 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time, April 11. Step 2: Book your flight Contact Stewart International Travel at by April 11 and ask for Claire to reserve your flights and book your ticket. For fast and efficient service when calling, please state that you are calling for the Urban Collaborative Member Meeting and have the preferred dates and times of travel ready. Step 3: Make your hotel reservation The conference will be held at The Omni Los Angeles. Please make your hotel reservation as soon as possible to ensure availability at the reduced group rate. You may do so by calling OMNI or online at The group code has already been entered. We encourage you to book online! If you are calling to reserve your room, please reference the "Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative" to ensure that you receive the negotiated room block rate of $ per night (approximate state and local 14% tax is applicable). Please note: You will need a credit card to guarantee your reservation. Along with the preliminary agenda, please find the Collaborative s Step-by-Step Instructions to register, Registration and Travel Policy, and Frequently Asked Questions below. Please read this important document as you plan your trip to Los Angeles. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Sarah Melpignano, Program Manager, at or smelpignano@edc.org, or visit our website at 1

3 PRELIMINARY AGENDA Spring 2016 Member Meeting Wednesday, May 4 1:30 pm 4:30 pm Consultancy Session with Compton Unified School District* Thursday, May 5 7:15 am 8:15 am Continental Breakfast 8:15 am 9:45 am Size-Alike Meeting ** 10:00 am 12:20 pm Collaborative Partner Focus Groups 1:30 pm 1:45 pm Welcome from Collaborative and Compton Leadership 1:45 pm 3:15 pm Keynote Address 3:30 pm 4:45 pm Collaborative Panel Discussion and Q & A 5:30 pm 7:00 pm Opening Reception Friday, May 6 7:30 am 8:30 am Breakfast 7:30 am 4:30 pm Collaborative Partner and Sponsor Expo 8:45 am 10:00 am Concurrent Sessions 10:15 am 11:30 am Concurrent Sessions 11:30 am 12:15 pm Partner and Sponsor Expo Visitations 12:15 pm 1:30 pm Luncheon 1:45 pm 3:00 pm Concurrent Sessions 3:15 pm 4:30 pm Concurrent Sessions Saturday, May 7 8:00 am 9:00 am Breakfast 9:00 am 10:30 am Plenary Session, World Café Protocol 10:30 am 10:45 am Wrap-up and Adjournment PRE-MEETING SESSION DESCRIPTIONS *Consultancy Session with Compton Unified School District This session will provide us with an opportunity to serve as consultants or critical friends to our colleagues in Compton. We have invited leadership from their district to present a dilemma that they would like our meeting participants to consider and on which to share their experience and expertise. We will be guiding participants through a facilitated protocol whereby the school districts leaders might learn how others would advise they respond to the specific areas of need. At the same time that we are helping our California colleagues, we are certain that you will all benefit from the sharing and bring home some new ideas for enhancing college and career readiness. ** Size-alike Meeting This session will provide an opportunity for representatives from our large, medium, and small school districts to meet in size-alike groups and participate in a facilitated conversation regarding a topic or issue of current interest or concern to special education leaders in urban school districts. 2

4 STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS Step ONE REGISTER (Please visit our website for FAQs) Spring 2016 Member Meeting Go to and click on the MEMBER LOGIN tab to log in before April 11, 2016 (You will need to know your login ID and password to enter. If you do not have your login and password, please After logging in, click on the REGISTER NOW on the SPRING 2016 MEMBER MEETING image on our homepage. Read the short set of instructions and then click on REGISTER NOW at the bottom of the page. Please enter the information requested, noting that the price for registration should be listed as $ (If you are registering with a free registration, there will be an option to enter a coupon code on the billing page). After filling out the information, if you d like to have the registration confirmation sent to an other than the associated with the login account, please enter that additional contact information in the space provided, then click Add to cart. If you would like to add an additional registrant to the order, click the link indicated in blue directly above your order. ( add another registration click here. ) If you wish to remove one of the registrations, click on the red Remove button. After doing this, click Update Cart to see the current subtotal. Click Checkout to be taken to the billing section of the registration. If you have a coupon code (coupon codes were ed to the district Member and Associate Member), enter it in the allocated space, then click Add Coupon. Please enter the billing information, regardless of method of payment (this includes coupons), which will be used. Please note that this may be different than your school district information that was entered on the first page. After entering billing information, click Continue to next step. If you have a balance left on your order, select a payment method using a credit card or purchase order (PO). If using a credit card, please check with the district administrator to find out under which address your credit card is registered. If you enter an incorrect address, your will be unable to complete your registration. Please review your order on the next page. If you need to make any changes, please click Go back at the bottom of the page. Otherwise, click Submit Registration to proceed with the purchase. 3

5 (Step-By-Step Instructions continued) Spring 2016 Member Meeting Upon receipt of your completed registration form, an confirmation will be sent to your school district s member account. If you entered an additional address during registration, the confirmation will be sent to that address as well. If you do not receive a confirmation, that means your registration did not complete. Please let us know if this should occur. Step TWO BOOK YOUR FLIGHT (Please read our revised Registration and Travel Policy before booking) Please contact Stewart International Travel by April 11 at and ask for Claire to reserve your flights and book your ticket. For fast and efficient service when calling, please state that you are calling for the Urban Collaborative Spring Meeting and have the preferred dates and times of travel ready. Please be sure to take into consideration the pre-meeting and Saturday sessions when booking your flight. Step THREE MAKE YOUR HOTEL RESERVATION* Omni Los Angeles 251 South Olive Street Los Angeles, California To make your reservation via telephone: (You will need a credit card to guarantee your reservation) Call THE-OMNI ( ). Be sure to book with our group and reference the Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative. Please have dates for your check-in and checkout ready. Be sure to take into consideration the pre-meeting and Saturday sessions when reserving your room. To make your reservation online: (You will need a credit card to guarantee your reservation) Please visit the following link: *Hotel reservations must be made as soon as possible. If you reserve after April 11, the Collaborative cannot guarantee availability or that you will receive the reduced room rate. You may cancel your reservation up to 72 hours prior to arrival, so book now and cancel later if need be! 4

6 Spring 2016 Member Meeting REGISTRATION AND TRAVEL POLICY FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS) Q: How many registrations are included with membership? A: ALL member districts will receive one free registration to the meeting. Any subsequent registrations will be charged $200 if attendees register before April 11, Beginning 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time, April 11, there will be a charge of $300 per registration. Registration fees cover participant materials, breaks, opening reception, and Friday luncheon. Q: For what does the Collaborative pay? * A: One of the benefits of membership in the Collaborative is paid airfare to our semi-annual meetings. The number of airline tickets paid for by the Collaborative is dependent upon your school district s size: If you are a small urban school district with enrollment of less than 15,000 students, your membership fee pays for one participant s airfare per meeting. If you are a medium urban school district with enrollment of between 15,000 and 50,000 students, your membership fee pays for two participants airfare per meeting. If you are a large urban school district with enrollment of more than 50,000 students, your membership fee pays for three participants airfare per meeting. *All participants are responsible for their own hotel fees, airline baggage fees, ground transportation, some meals, and incidentals. Q: Can I choose the flight I want? A: Increased fuel prices have increased fares and most airlines have cut back on the number of flights they intend to operate. With fewer flights, there are fewer of the least expensive seats. Please help the Collaborative stay within budget by making your reservations early. The Collaborative and our designated travel agency will try our best to accommodate your travel preferences. We will seek out the most reasonable airfare at the time of booking, but please be aware that you may be required to book an itinerary with a connecting flight. There may be occasions where a specific airline that offers better fares and/or travel times is not available through our designated travel agency. If you are aware of this and wish to book through that airline, contact our office for assistance. Before booking your ticket, please make sure that you are have district approval and are committed to attending the meeting. Unused tickets result in lost money for the Collaborative and risk our ability to continue offering airfare as a benefit. Please note that airfare is not transferable to another person. 5

7 Spring 2016 Member Meeting (Revised Registration and Travel Policy, FAQs continued) Q: Can I send additional representatives from my district? A: Yes. Member districts are encouraged to register additional participants to attend the Collaborative meetings. If registration is completed before April 11, 2016, the registration fee for each additional participant is $200. Beginning 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time, April 11, there will be a charge of $300 per registration. If you would like to pay by check/purchase order: Please make check payable to: Education Development Center, Inc., Please send to: Pilar Miranda c/o Education Development Center, Inc. 43 Foundry Avenue Waltham, MA Q: What if I live locally and do not need to fly to the meeting? A: For members that do not require airline travel, the district can substitute their airline cost benefit for extra participant registration fees. As with airline tickets, the number of registration fees paid for by the Collaborative depends upon your district s size. That is: For small districts, instead of paying the airfare for one participant, the Collaborative will waive the registration fee for one extra participant for a total of two registrants at no cost. For medium districts, instead of paying the airfare for two participants, the Collaborative will waive the registration fees for two extra participants for a total of three registrants at no cost. For large districts, instead of paying the airfare for three participants, the Collaborative will waive the registration fees for three extra participants for a total of four registrants at no cost. Q: What if I need to make changes or cancel? A: Please Pilar Miranda at pmiranda@edc.org before April 11 if you need to cancel. Registration fees are non-refundable unless cancellations are made before that Monday. Participants who do not cancel by this date will be held responsible for the registration fee. Once an airline ticket has been issued, the ticket holder is responsible for all costs associated with any changes. Change fees may include a $150 airline fee, a $40 service fee and the difference in airfare. Again, to avoid these extra fees and to help the Collaborative, please be sure that you are able to attend the meeting before booking your ticket. 6