Frequently Asked Questions for VATE Conference Attendees

1) If I am presenting, why do I have to pay a registration fee?

VATE operates as a state affiliate of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). We follow as many of their guidelines for sponsoring a state level conference as possible. Conferences are expensive undertakings for an organization. Because teachers have at least six-seven concurrent sessions at any given time over a two-day period, this many breakout rooms must be rented at the site. The costs are high; therefore, everyone pays a registration fee, including the executive board members. Keynote speakers, whom we pay, are exempt from this. However, NCTE may help sponsor a speaker, sometimes exhibitors assist in the sponsorship of a keynote speaker, and, at times, a speaker may waive his or her fee to assist our non-profit organization. VATE conference registration fees are quite low in comparison to other professional organizations.

2) Why can’t I sign up for the meal functions at the conference site?

A week to ten days before the conference, the site needs to know the numbers VATE will have attending the different meal functions. This is so they may plan accordingly. VATE is responsible for the fees charged by the site. We collect the money from the conference registrants so that we can pay the site. In recent years, the prices for the meal functions have risen. VATE has to pass this cost on to the conference attendees. Sometimes there is an emergency at home or someone may become ill. This person may ask us to sell their ticket for them. These are the rare occasions where you may purchase a ticket on site.

3) If I am not staying overnight and need a place to rest during the day, where can I go?

VATE sponsors a Hospitality Room at every conference. Here attendees and families may go to relax, have refreshments, and converse. At the 2003 conference, people could even watch TV and videos in the Hospitality Room.

4) How can I afford to attend a conference? How may I receive financial support?

School systems throughout the state handle the support of conferences differently. Some pay registration fees. Some may pay for meals and/or gas mileage and/or rooms. Some systems may support you if you agree to share ideas gleaned with your school staff. Ask your administrators. Negotiate. There are funds given to school districts for staff development. Some enterprising teachers have asked their community to help sponsor them. If all else fails, your professional development expenses can be used as a tax exemption.

5) May teachers, other than English teachers, attend the VATE conference?

The VATE conference has sessions that would interest other areas. Many middle school level sessions whose strategies could work in upper elementary school. Special Needs teachers could discover many excellent strategies to use. Librarians could benefit from ideas used with reading. Many of the great ideas shared can be adapted to any grade level class.

6) What is the purpose of a chair/recorder? What does VATE do with the information on the forms?

Chairs and Recorders help us plan for future conferences. The Chair introduces the program presenters and opens the session with brief introductory remarks that helps put the session in perspective. They may help call or monitor time progression during the presentations. Recorders help to evaluate the sessions. They note the number in attendance, summarize the session, and assess the overall response of the audience to the program. This information tells us the types of sessions that teachers want to attend, the day of the week(end) and times of day most are attending sessions, and the length of sessions that are popular. Also, if a session is full and teachers want to learn more about this topic, we may encourage that presenter to present in the future.

7) If I have a great idea, how can I share at a conference?

A conference proposal form for the current conference (both online and printable versions) is on the VATE web site. The form will have a deadline for proposal submission (usually in June). A conference proposal will also appear in the spring Needle's Eye.. Proposal deadlines are very important. To organize almost 50 concurrent sessions over a two-day period is a time consuming undertaking. We try to balance the sessions and give attendees an opportunity to attend many valuable sessions.

8) How can I become more involved with VATE?

Check out the VATE web site for the names of the officers. You may contact any of them. If you do not know your regional affiliate and/or you have a currently inactive affiliate, contact the current Affiliate Chair or Executive Secretary. A good way to start is at the local or regional level. Active affiliates may have two or three events throughout the year to bring teachers within a certain region together. They may host local writing contests and publish a local newsletter. They may bring in an author or writer to share his or her works. We know that collegiality is important to teachers. Being active in a local affiliate will give teachers many opportunities they would not have otherwise.