7 Reasons to Stay at the Embassy Suites During the Elementary School Conference

Are you planning to attend the Elementary School Conference next month? It will be held at the Embassy Suites Resort in Concord, NC, near Charlotte from October 19th to the 21st. It's hosted by the NC Association of Elementary Educators, and it's open to all elementary educators ... you don't have to be a member to attend.

If you ARE planning to attend, please consider staying at the Embassy Suites during your visit. NCAEE has reserved a block of rooms at a special discounted rate, but that discount ends on October 4th. You can find step-by-step details for registering at the end of this blog post or at the bottom of the registration page.

If you are wondering about the $50 gift card giveaway, please see the information at the end of the blog post. The contest is over and a winner was chosen!

7 Reasons to Stay at the Embassy Suites
Here are 7 reasons why you should stay at the Embassy Suites during the conference:

1. Luxury and Convenience - Staying onsite during a conference means you can relax and enjoy yourself in the beautiful new Embassy Suites hotel. No need to get up super early to drive to the event and look for parking! You might even want to arrive on Saturday to include time for a visit to the spa, golf course, or one of their great restaurants! 
2. Free Internet Service - The Embassy Suites is offering FREE Internet service to Elementary School Conference participants who stay at the hotel! It's not normally their policy, but they have made a special exception for us. 
3. Free Manager's Evening Reception - Network with colleagues during the manager's reception where you'll enjoy free drinks and snacks. Beverages offered include wine, beer, and mixed drinks.
4. Free Hot Breakfast - The Embassy Suites offers a full, cook-to-order breakfast for all registered guests. This year NCAEE is offering a free luncheon instead of last year's continental breakfast, so if you don't stay onsite, you'll need to grab something to eat before you arrive. 
5. Discounted Room Rate - Our discounted room rate makes the price reasonable, especially if you share a room with a friend. In fact, your half of the room cost will be about the "state rate" for reimbursement. To get that rate, register with Group Code AEE.
6. Great Shopping - The hotel is located near the Concord Mills Mall, so after the conference ends each day, you can shop till you drop! 
7. Support NCAEE - Staying at the Embassy Suites is one way you can support NCAEE and make it possible for us to continue hosting the Elementary School Conference. We receive a substantial discount on conference meeting room fees by reserving a block of guest rooms for our attendees. However, if we don't fill at least 80% of the rooms by the deadline (October 4th), we'll have to pay a HUGE penalty. How big? Some years we've had to pay over $6,000 in penalties because we didn't meet that minimum! Yikes!  

How to Make a Reservation

The Embassy Suites has a conference rate of $139 plus tax, which remains valid for reservations made on or before September 27, 2014. When phoning in your reservation, call 1-800-362-2779 or 704-455-8200 and be sure to tell the hotel that you're with the "AEE" group.

To register online, click this link to go to the hotel web page:

1. Click Make a Reservation.
2. Enter the conference dates: October 19-21, 2014. (If you want to stay Saturday, enter Oct. 18-21)
3. Enter number of rooms and people.
4. Then click Add special rate codes.
5. Under Group Codes, enter AEE.
6. Then click on the box to Check Availability.
7. Complete your reservation. 
8. Check your email for your hotel reservation confirmation code.

If you haven't registered for the conference yet, please visit the NCAEE website where you can learn more about it and sign up. Thanks for your support, and we look forward to seeing you next month!

$50 Amazon.com Gift Card Contest
To encourage conference participants to reserve a room before the September 27th deadline, we hosted a giveaway of a $50 Gift Card to Amazon.com to a participant who reserved a room at the Embassy Suites by September 27th.

The contest is over, and the winner is Carla Johnson-Royal! We just notified her and she will pick up the gift card during the conference.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Join the 2014-2015 NCAEE Team!

If you're an elementary educator in North Carolina who wants to make a difference, we want you on our team! The NC Association of Elementary Educators (NCAEE) is an active organization with a mission to advocate for elementary students and teachers by providing outstanding professional development across the state. Through our efforts, thousands of teachers have been inspired by motivational speakers and educators like Ron Clark, Dr. Jean Feldman, Dr. Harry Wong, Dr. Marcia Tate, and many others.

We are a volunteer organization, run entirely by educators who have a passion for making a difference in elementary education. NCAEE is led by a Board of Directors, and each year some of our Board members rotate off the Board and we bring on new folks. We also have positions available at the regional level. If you're interested, please read on!

How to Get Involved with NCAEE
There are three levels of involvement in the NC Association of Elementary Educators:

• NCAEE Members 
• NCAEE Regional Advisory Council (RAC) Members
• NCAEE Board Members

Becoming a member is easy! You can join online from our website and pay a small membership fee, or you can attend the Elementary School Conference and complete the membership information form during the conference. Your membership fee is included in your registration payment. Members support our organization by attending the conference and sharing information about NCAEE with others.

Regional Advisory Council Members assist our Regional Directors with determining the needs of their region and implementing one-day regional conferences to meet those needs. Click the map above to see a larger view and find your own region.

NCAEE Board Members include all eight Regional Directors and others such as the President, President-Elect, Treasurer, Secretary, and At-Large representatives from various facets of elementary education including university professors, DPI, central office administrators, principals, etc. Visit our Leadership Page to see a complete listing of all Board members. Board Members attend all Board meetings and have an active voice all aspects of our organization. We generally have two face-to-face Board meetings a year and four or five online meetings. You can read more about our organization on our website and in our by-laws.

State and Regional Conferences

In order to understand the various roles in our organization, you need a learn a little about what NCAEE offers to elementary educators. We are most well known for our annual state conference, the Elementary School Conference that takes place each fall. This year's conference will take place in Concord, NC, near Charlotte, and features well-known speakers as well as practicing educators. A Conference Committee made of Board Members works with a conference planning organization to coordinate this event.

We also seek to inspire educators through smaller, one-day or evening conferences in each of the eight regions in our state. Our most recent conference was the Region 3 session that took place on August 4th in Franklin County and included opportunities for educators to learn about funding resources for classroom projects, attend workshops presented by teachers for teachers, and attend a Q&A panel discussion with NCDPI consultants. The event was a success, as you can see from the feedback we received from Crystal Williams, one of the attendees:

"Thank you for all you did to make the Regional Conference a success.  I appreciate your support.  It was an extremely beneficial conference and I can't wait to share the resources & ideas with others."

Regional Advisory Councils
Who's responsible for planning and organizing these regional events? That's the job of the eight Regional Directors who each work with 4 or 5 Regional Advisory Council members to find a location and coordinate the events of the day. Regional Advisory Council members do not attend Board meetings, but they meet online or face-to-face with other council members to determine the needs of their regions and plan an event that will meet those needs. We currently are in need of several Regional Directors and a good many more Advisory Council Members. All Regional Advisory Councils will hold their first meeting on Monday, October 20th, after the last session at the conference. The time and location will be provided to RAC members before the conference. If you apply to become an RAC member, please plan to attend the Elementary School Conference this year.

How to Apply for a Leadership Role in NCAEE

Getting involved in a leadership role with NCAEE is a wonderful way to share your knowledge and expertise with others in our state. We welcome all educators, including classroom teachers, retired teachers, administrators, and educational consultants. All you need is a desire to make a difference in elementary education and a willingness to work hard to help NCAEE fulfill its mission.

If you are interested in taking on a leadership role in our organization, please complete the Google Doc form on the right. You may not hear from us right away, but we will contact folks as positions become open.

We are excited about our upcoming Elementary School Conference and hope you will plan to join us at the Embassy Suites Concord/Charlotte for that event. You can learn more about it and register now from the NCAEE website. Our organization is growing, and we know that there are many talented and passionate educators across the state who would welcome becoming involved with NCAEE. We look forward to meeting you this October!

Register Now for the Elementary School Conference!

Conference Dates: October 19 - 21, 2014

Are you planning to attend the upcoming 11th Annual Elementary School Conference this October? We're excited that this year's conference will be held in a brand new location, the Embassy Suites in Concord near Charlotte, NC. Our theme is "Mind, Heart, Body - Educating the Whole Child," and we have a terrific lineup of speakers who will share engaging strategies to keep you motivated during the 2014-2015 school year!

Dave Burgess, author of Teach Like a PIRATE is our luncheon keynote speaker, and in his fast-paced, entertaining session he will share ways to dramatically increase student engagement and design wildly creative lessons.

Our featured speakers include The Bag Ladies, Dr. Kathy Kennedy, Pat Calfee, Kathy Bumgardner, and Laura Candler. You can read more about their sessions on the conference registration page here.

How to Register

The Elementary School Conference is hosted by the NC Association of Elementary Educators, but it's not just for NC teachers. It's open to all elementary educators, no matter where they live. Registration is open, and there are many payment options available. You can register and pay online with a credit card, or print out the registration form and mail it in with a check or purchase order. We also have a 20% Team Discount for groups of 5 or more. Get the details on our registration page.

Free Conference Registration Giveaway

To help promote the Elementary School Conference, we hosted a giveaway for TWO free conference registrations!

The giveaway ended on Monday, September 8th, and our winners were Amanda Righter and Lindsey Gaudet. Congratulations!

Please help spread the word about the Elementary School Conference by sharing this blog post with them or by sending them directly to the NCAEE website. We hope to see you at the conference this October!