The NCSS Annual Conference is a great investment in your career, yet we know that budgets can be tight. We work hard to make our professional development opportunities not only the best and most comprehensive, but also the most cost effective. Here are some suggestions to help you receive support, secure funding and save money:

Requesting Support to Attend

• Use literacy in your request to attend. The 101st 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.
• Make your case to your administrator today using this sample letter.

Securing Funding

• If you have never attended the NCSS Annual Conference, apply for a first timer’s scholarship, which covers registration and one-year NCSS membership.
• Check with your principal for 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 and 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.
• Ask you 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.

Saving Money

• Volunteer to work at the conference. You can exchange hours worked for access to the full conference platform.  For more information on volunteering.
• Encourage three colleagues/friends to register with you and qualify for the discounted group registration rate ($225 each). 
• Become an NCSS Member. Membership rates start at just $79 for a full year, and the benefits extend beyond the conference.
• Ask your school to purchase an institutional membership. Receive one full conference registration free!