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TCTA celebrates half-century mark
More than 500 delegates are expected to attend the 50th Annual Convention of the Texas Classroom Teachers Association to be held in Austin on March 3-5, 2005. The TCTA Representative Assembly will elect statewide officers and members of the Director's council, review and vote on the Association’s 2005 legislative program, and adopt policy positions on many current issues in education. Participants also will have an opportunity to earn continuing education units at numerous mini-conference sessions to be held on Friday, March 4.
Capitol visit
Convention delegates and other TCTA members from across the state are invited to join the TCTA Board at the Capitol in meeting with state lawmakers to encourage legislative support for enhanced funding for public schools and improvements in educator compensation and school conditions. This traditional pre-Convention visit to the Capitol is scheduled for Thursday, March 3, with a noon legislative briefing followed by a trip to the Capitol from 2 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. The briefing will include the latest information on critical legislative issues and lobbying tips, and is recommended for those wishing to participate in the Capitol visit. Preregistration is required for this event to ensure that there are adequate materials, meeting space and room on the shuttle bus. An optional boxed lunch ($14) and shuttle transportation ($6) to and from the Capitol will be available.
Convention activities
Convention activities will begin on Friday, March 4. The registration desk opens at 7:30 a.m., and two groups of three concurrent mini-conference sessions are scheduled from 8:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. (tickets required). Sessions will cover such topics as federal vs. state accountability, special education and the reauthorization of IDEA, gifted students in the real world, TRS funding, and the 79th legislative session. TCTA opening ceremonies mark the official start of the Convention at 1:30 p.m., with a keynote address. The TCTA 2004-05 Friend of Education award winners will be announced at the first business meeting scheduled for 3 p.m.
Elections
Elections for TCTA officers and Board of Director positions are scheduled for Friday, March 4, following the close of the second business meeting. Delegates will select TCTA’s 2005-06 President-Elect and statewide chairs for the Governance, Legislation, Membership, and Professional Rights and Responsibilities committees. They also will elect one or more district director(s) for each of TCTA’s 20 districts, and directors-at-large will be elected to fill seats, if needed, to balance the board’s ethnic minority representation.
Convention activities will continue on Saturday, March 5, when the business meeting resumes and election results are announced. The Convention closes with a TCTA Awards Luncheon from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. (ticket required), honoring recipients of TCTA’s 2004-05 awards for excellence in the field of education.
Hotel information
The TCTA 2005 Convention will be held at the Austin Renaissance Hotel located at 9721 Arboretum Blvd. A discounted rate of $134 is available for TCTA members UNTIL Feb. 11, 2005. TCTA delegates who make reservations after that date may be required to pay a higher hotel rate. Hotel reservations must be made by calling the Renaissance Austin Hotel directly at (512) 343-2626 or may be booked online at www.renaissanceaustin.com. Specific instructions for online reservations have been mailed to local affiliate presidents.
Becoming a delegate
Each local affiliate is allocated the number of voting delegates it may bring to Convention, based on the CTA’s size and determined according to the number of active-level members in the affiliate as of Dec. 31 of each membership year. The specific delegate allocation for each local affiliate is mailed to the local president in early January.
Members who need assistance with delegate information may contact Jan Lanfear at (888) 879-8282 (a toll-free call) or by e-mail at jlanfear@tcta.org.
Additional information
Detailed information on the TCTA 2005 Convention has been mailed to local affiliate presidents. Online registration for the mini-conferences, Capitol visit and awards luncheon is now available online. Members who are not serving as voting delegates may attend sessions of the Representative Assembly seated in the visitors section and are welcome to attend mini-conference sessions and the awards luncheon (tickets required).
TCTA will honor statewide award winners
TCTA’s statewide program to recognize excellence in education began nearly 30 years ago with the presentation of the TCTA Friend of Education award. Today the program has grown to 11 awards. In addition to the Friend of Education awards in public official and private citizen categories, statewide awards include seven presented to nonmembers: Administrator of the Year in three categories, School Board Trustee of the Year and Silver Apple media awards in three categories; and two presented to members: Retiree of the Year and Faculty Representative of the Year.
The winners of the 2004-05 TCTA statewide awards will be honored during the 2005 Annual Convention in Austin. TCTA’s Friend of Education honorees will be recognized before the Representative Assembly, and other award recipients will be honored at the special closing luncheon. Award winners will receive a cash award and special commemorative plaque, and are invited to make brief remarks. Tickets for the 2005 Awards Luncheon cost $20 each and reservations must be made by Feb. 23, 2005. Convention delegates are urged to attend the luncheon so they may express thanks and support for some of the state’s most outstanding individuals in the field of education.
