Conferences

AASA National Conference on Education

February 19-21, 2009 - San Francisco, CA

The 2009 AASA National Conference on Education will be held in San Francisco, California on February 19-21. For nearly 140 years AASA's National Conference on Education^TM is where America's school leaders go for a vision of the future in public education - to explore new thinking, new products, new services and new technologies. It is the largest annual meeting of school superintendents in the United States. This year’s theme is Grow With Us: Renew Your Commitment & Nurture Your Relationships. The challenges and opportunities inherent in public school leadership are enormous. You can turn to the National Conference on Education to learn fresh approaches and challenge your thinking. Get a 360-degree perspective from public school systems - large and small, urban, suburban and rural - and talk to your peers face-to-face about their best practices.

AASA members-only registration is open July 1 – July 14, 2008. After July 14, registration is open to all attendees. The Illinois block housing for the conference closes on Monday, September 29, 2008, so register early to ensure that you stay with the Illinois delegation.

Registration Information

Each attendee must register for the 2009 National Conference on Education (NCE) before you can access or secure housing, including state block housing. A valid confirmation ID number must be used with each housing reservation. Save time and secure housing immediately - register online at www.aasa.org/nce.

Once your online registration is complete, you will automatically be linked to the housing site. If you choose to secure housing at a later date, your registration confirmation letter will contain the necessary information to obtain housing for the NCE.

Please be advised that a dedicated room block is available for our members at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco on Union Square – 345 Stockton Street, San Francisco, California 94108. These rooms will be available from July 1 – September 29, 2008. A valid user name and password is required to make any reservation in the state block. Please use the following when you register online:

State: Illinois
User ID: Middleton
Password: Pewter09

In order to keep rooms accessible to Illinois members only, please do not share the user name and password with individuals outside of our state association.

AASA regrets that it is unable to accept requests for housing prior to receipt and verification of payment in full for registration fees or purchase order numbers. Registrations with P.O. payments must be mailed or faxed and registrations with check payments must be mailed. Use of the registration form will delay receipt of your National Conference on Education registration confirmation ID required to access online housing. We suggest you send both the registration and housing forms together to expedite the housing process. Forms can be found at www.aasa.org/nce.

Fax: AASA Registration and Housing
301/694-5124

Mail:    AASA Registration and Housing
            P.O. Box 3918
            Frederick, MD 21701

Note: Mailing/faxing of forms (for purchase orders and checks) will take several days to process, and registration IDs will not be immediately available. A confirmation will be sent directly from the registration company with this information. If a confirmation is not sent within 20 days, please call 866/229-3691.

NCE registrations and housing reservations cannot be taken over the phone.

If rooms are sold out in your state block or you have questions about the state’s block, please contact Cherry Middleton at 217/753-2213 or cmiddleton@iasaedu.org.

Online Registration and Housing Reservation Instructions

The Illinois delegation will be staying at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco on Union Square – 345 Stockton Street, San Francisco, California 94108. All reservations must be made on-line. Follow the steps below to make your reservation:

Have a credit card available for your registration and housing reservation(s) fees.
Go to www.aasa.org/nce and choose “Register Now!” from the left navigation bar.
On the welcome page, click “State Association Registration and Housing” link (near bottom of the page).
On the State Selection page, choose “Illinois” from the pull-down menu.
On the State Association Registration page, enter the following username and password and click “continue”:
User Name – Middleton
Password – Pewter09
Enter your AASA member ID number (found on your AASA membership card) and last name to begin your registration process. Upon completion of your registration, the housing options will automatically appear.
On the “Housing” page, click “Search for Hotels”
On the “Room Search” page, use the pull-down menus to choose:

- Hotel (only your state’s designated hotel will appear, however, you must still choose it from the pull-down menu)
- Arrival date
- Departure date

NOTE: Available hotels are indicated with a circle before the name below. A red W means that rooms are not available in that hotel/category and a waitlist is not allowed. If a hotel shows ‘waitlist only’, this indicates that one or more nights during your requested stay are not available at this time. You may view more waitlist details by clicking on the words “waitlist only” on the hotel list, or you may choose to alter your arrival/departure dates and perform the hotel search again below. Waitlist requests and rooms will be monitored carefully until September 28, 2008. Experient will clear waitlists as rooms become available. To continue with your waitlist reservation, click “Continue with State Block Housing Reservation”.

Click “Book Now”.
Continue and complete each page to finalize your reservation.

Deposit Information: No hotel reservation will be processed or confirmed by AASA Housing without a credit card to guarantee the reservation. Hotel/AASA Housing will charge one night’s room & tax (per room reserved) immediately upon making reservations.

Deposits are non-refundable after January 19, 2009. Failure to abide by the January 19, 2009 cancellation policy will result in forfeiture of your room deposits charged to your credit card.

Changes and Cancellations: All reservation charges and/or cancellations must be made in writing through AASA’s Housing Bureau (see contact information below). DO NOT contact the hotel directly. Changes must be received by December 31, 2008.

Need Online Technical Assistance or Have Question about State Block Housing? To speak to an AASA Housing Service Consultant, call 800/974-9833 between 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., CST or email Jennifer Moore or Brenda Howe.

Superintendent of the Year Reception
A reception for the 2009 Superintendent of the Year will be held on Friday, February 20, 2009. More details coming soon! Learn more about the National Superintendent of the Year Program and download a copy of the nomination form on the AASA website. The reception is sponsored by Education Technology Partners.

IASA Community Service Project

Join IASA President Robert E. Gillum and his wife Kathy in a day long community service project at the 2009 AASA National Conference on Education in San Francisco. In an effort to reach out to the community hosting the conference, IASA has made arrangements to work on a single family residence project with Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco on Wednesday, February 18, 2009. This is the third year for the project and we are pleased to offer this to conference attendees again this year.

For anyone unfamiliar with Habitat for Humanity, the organization builds decent, affordable housing for families in need. These families, along with volunteers, invest time and “sweat equity” into the homes. No experience is necessary, just a willingness to work. Click here to see photos from last year’s service project. Special thanks go out to Dr. Randolph L. Tinder, Retired IASA Member, and his wife Mary Bates for organizing the 2009 event. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Cherry Middleton, Executive Secretary/Office Manager, at cmiddleton@iasaedu.org.

The 2009 project is again sponsored by Environmental Consultants, LLC.

Future Conferences

National Conference on Education^TM