News
Texas Support for Homeless Education Program (TEXSHEP) 2009 Spring Training Conference
General Conference Information
The 2009 Texas Homeless Education Spring Training Conference sponsored by the Region 10 Education Service Center and THEO for TEXSHEP subgrantees, TMVBI subgrantees, and other interested school districts and homeless service providers will be held February 11 to February 13, 2009, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, (formerly the Red Lion, located at the intersection of US Hwy 290 East and Interstate 35 North). The conference will focus on how school districts can provide services to students in homeless situations in ways that are effective and meaningful for both students and staff. All are welcome!
The Texas Support for Homeless Education Program (TEXSHEP) grant states that subgrantees are required to attend designated training sessions. At least one person from each TEXSHEP and TXMVBI subgrantee must attend all of the required training sessions:
- Wednesday, February 11 - 8:30 a.m.-4:45 p.m.
- Thursday, February 12 - 8:30 a.m.-4:45 p.m.
- Friday, February 13 - 8:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Please make travel plans to attend the entire training session; do not plan to leave early. Keep in mind that air travel requires lengthier check-in times, so schedule flights accordingly.
The temperature in the meeting rooms may vary so please dress in layers.
Please note: All attendees, including subgrantees are responsible for paying all costs associated with this training. This includes registration, hotel fees, food expenses, travel, taxi, parking, etc. McKinney-Vento subgrant funds, if applicable, may be used for this purpose.
To print a copy of the Spring Training conference flyer, click here.
To see a copy of the proposed training agenda, click here.
Conference Registration
Registration must be completed online for this event.
Registration fee: There is a $259 registration fee.
Please note: When registering, please take a moment to review the cancellation policy.
To register for the conference, please follow these directions:
1. Please go to www.region10.org
2. Place your mouse on the “login” button (top right). For those that have not already created an account, please click create an account. For those that created an account for the conference, please click on login.
3. Please note: Your username will be the email address you used when registering.
4. Please follow the directions as listed.
5. Once you have created an account, please log into the system.
6. Click on Register for a Class (middle of the page).
7. Please search using only the following in the title line (no date is needed): TEXSHEP
8. Click on TEXSHEP Spring Conference 2009 (near the very bottom of the page).
9. In red you will see Register for this Event, please click on this.
10. Submit your request.
You should receive a confirmation via email within 24 hours. If, at any time, the system gives you trouble, please don’t hesitate to call the Help Desk at 972.348.1620.
Further details will follow once you’ve registered for the conference.
Please note: Cancellations through Region 10 ESC more than two weeks from the first day of training will not be charged the registration fee (no later than 01.28.2009). Cancellations between two weeks and four calendar days out will be charged 50% of the registration fee (01.29.2009 - 02.07.2009) and cancellations three or less calendar days prior to the first day of the conference will be charged the registration fee in full (02.08.2009 – 02.11.2009).
To print a copy of these registration instructions, click here.
Hotel Registration
The training will be held at the Crowne Plaza Austin Central,
6121 North I-35 @ Hwy 290 E. Austin, TX 78752;
Phone: 512-323-5466.
All conference participants must register individually for their own hotel rooms at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. You may complete your hotel reservations by visiting the following website:
http://www.ihg.com/h/d/CP/1/en/rates/AUSGZ?
groupBookingCode=THE&_IATAno=99801505
Click on “Reservations” and enter arrival and departure information. Then click on the “Corporate/Group” field and enter the following Group Code: THE. When you are done, click “Check Availability.”
The hotel room rate for the conference is $85.00/night for singles and $115.00/night for doubles.
Please note: The cutoff date for obtaining the state rate of $85 is Tuesday, January 20, 2009.
The hotel requires that all reservations be guaranteed. Reservations may be guaranteed by major credit card equal to one night's room and tax. Cancellations must be made seventy-two (72) hours prior to arrival in order to avoid a charge for the first night. Reservations can only be canceled by calling the hotel directly and obtaining a cancellation number. Cancellations after this time will result in applicable room rate and tax being charged to the credit card on file of the party that made the reservation.
If you are a state tax exempt agency or organization, you will need to supply your tax exempt information upon check-in at the hotel.
All rooms will be available for check-in at 3:00 PM with a check-out time of 12:00 PM. Since the conference begins at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, February 11th, participants may want to consider arriving in Austin on the previous day, Tuesday, February 27.
To print a copy of these registration instructions, click here.
Tentative Agenda
Training will be from 8:30 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday;
and from 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. on Friday.
To see a complete copy of the proposed training agenda, click here.
Wednesday Morning, February 11:
Most of the morning will be spent dealing with issues surrounding school discipline models and their effectiveness or lack of effectiveness and how they impact on the "school to prison" pipeline. This conversation will be facilitated by Appleseed of Austin, Texas.
Wednesday Afternoon, February 11:
The afternoon session will begin before the lunch break, and will consist of a variety of facilitated topic conversations dealing with homeloe3ssness and homeless education. After lunch, Wellspring Resources of Austin, Texas will conduct an experiential training workshop on the Conversation Cafe model. The afternoon will end with a second Conversation Café experience that will be hosted by one of the participants on a topic selected by the group.
Thursday, February 12:
World-renowned speaker Rich Allen will addres the topic of Green Light Classrooms. Mr. Allen says: “The students walking into classrooms today are radically different than those we taught 20, 15, even 10 years ago. Having grown up with the internet, digital TV and computer games, even young kids arrive with a very different idea of how they learn and new expectations of information delivery. To draw these learners in, and help them maximize their potential, we need to use instructional strategies that more closely match their fast, exciting and instantly gratifying world. In this practical, energetic, dynamic workshop you’ll both hear about and experience brain-based teaching techniques you can use to seize – and hold! – their attention, such as using today’s music, creating relevance by connecting the material to their world, maximizing their memories’ potential, and many, many more.” This will be a full-day session.
Friday morning, February 13:
Several topices will be addressed in this final training session, including updates on Foster Care resources and interventions, and a variety of program updates and housekeeping items. The Texas representative for College Goal Sunday will also talk about FAFSA/Financial Aid resources for students preparing for college.