Finding Support to Attend

The 92nd NCSS Annual Conference will provide the most comprehensive professional development available, an investment in your career well worth the time and expense, but we know that school money is very tight. NCSS strives to make our professional development opportunities not only the best and most comprehensive, but also the most cost effective. We have a few suggestions on where to look for financial support to attend, and ways to save:

Funding Suggestions

• Check with your principal or department chair to see if there is any professional development money available. You may be pleasantly surprised. Attending a national conference with all of its sessions, workshops, and many other opportunities for education often qualifies as professional development training.
• If professional development funds are not available, ask about Title I funds. These are often more available and you can usually write the application to fit social studies.
• If your district has a Teaching American History grant, you may find funds available there. There are more than 100 U.S. History sessions ideally suited for TAH grantees. In addition, Christine Miller, Teaching American History (TAH) team lead at the U.S. Department of Education, will provide updates on the TAH program and other ED programs and will lead a conversation on project sustainability at the conference on Sunday, November 18. We encourage all TAH grantees, and prospective grantees, to attend this important update.
• Take advantage of the $250 educator expense deduction on your federal taxes to help cover out-of-pocket professional development costs.
• Use "literacy" in your request to attend. The 2012 NCSS Annual Conference will include sessions on literacy and social studies, both because it makes sense and to help teachers convince their districts to let them attend.
• Join an NCSS committee. Districts will often see participation in association governance as a positive.
• Volunteer to work at the conference. You can exchange hours work for attendance, and discounted registration rates are available to volunteers.
• Ask your PTA, religious institution, or fraternal organization of which you may be a member to help defray the cost of your attendance.
• Talk to the Kiwanis or Rotary Clubs.
• If you live in the Pacific Northwest and have never attended the NCSS Annual Conference, apply for a first timer's scholarship, which covers registration and one-year NCSS membership.

Ways to Save

• Check for Membership. Before you register check to see if you are an Individual Member or if your school has an institutional membership. Every type of NCSS member--Regular, Comprehensive, Student, Retired--can register at the discounted member rate.
• Become an NCSS Member. Membership rates start at just $66 for a full year, and the benefits extend well past the conference. Ask your school to take an institutional membership so three teachers can take advantage of the NCSS membership, all for as little as $115 annually.
• Take Advantage of Travel Discounts. We've negotiated exclusive discounted rates at four downtown Seattle hotels, all within three blocks of the Washington State Convention Center. We also have air and rail discounts available. Click here for details.
• Register for a Day. One-day registration rates are available, if you are unable to leave the class for a day or more, so come for one day of premium and intense learning.
• Encourage two or three friends to come and share expenses.