CEC | Why Attend?

Why Attend?

General Info

Lynn and Doug Fuchs, Program Chairs, invite you to join us April 21-24 for the CEC 2010 Convention & Expo -- the largest professional gathering of the special education community. This event offers you an unparalleled learning experience with more than 800 educational hours to help you learn the latest in evidence-based practices; explore innovative technologies, products, and services; and network with others working with children with exceptionalities and their families.

You’ll discover a rich learning environment where you can connect, exchange, and grow:

Join the dialogue as we envision the future of special education through multiple town hall meetings on current topics impacting the profession. Participate in this new and exciting format and let your voice be heard.

Learn across multiple educational formats specifically developed to meet your needs and across every facet of special education.

Connect with your fellow educators all under one roof.

Participate in the Multicultural Institute before the convention and expo gets started. This full-day institute will focus on research-based strategies and practices for learners from culturally and linguistically diverse populations.

New this year with your registration, receive access to select sessions when you return home -- even if you weren’t able to attend them onsite. Our new Live Learning Center gives you year-round access.

Visit the Expo, where you can browse more than 200 exhibiting companies and non-profits to learn about their products and services, enjoy free breakfasts, and enter to win great prizes.

Investigate new career opportunities with onsite recruiters.

And much more!

Check out the Session Scheduler to browse sessions by topical interest area, speaker name, educational format, or date.

Using ARRA Funds

The U.S. Department of Education strongly encourages local education agencies (LEAs) to use their economic stimulus (ARRA) funds for professional development and building program capacity. Click here to view CEC’s Wise Use of ARRA Funds report.

Making the Case to Your Supervisor

Many school district and university travel and professional development budgets have been considerably reduced. Regardless of the merits of CEC’s Annual Convention & Expo (and we think there are many!), you may need to justify your attendance to your supervisor. Here are some things you will want to consider:

Focus on what you will bring back to your school, school district, college/university, or organization.

Offer to prepare and deliver a short presentation and Q&A to your colleagues to share what you learned. That way, others will get the benefits of your attendance, too.

Share the presentation materials with your colleagues. As an attendee, you have unlimited access to 800 hours of educational programming. But a full 100 hours of programming will be accessible after you return home -- including the videos, audios, PowerPoints, and handouts -- through our Live Learning Center.

Remind your supervisor that this is a great way to earn CEUs or university credits (through our strands and preconvention workshops) and is less expensive than registering for separate conferences. It also requires less time away from the office.

Share your plans as to how things will be taken care of while you are away.

Offer to share a room to reduce hotel expenses.

Be sure to check out the Registration and Rates page to see if you qualify for any discounts or can volunteer some time to reduce your expenses.

Complete the sample letter to a supervisor. We’ve done most of the work for you!

Good luck and we hope to see you in Music City!