The 74th Annual ICEC Fall Convention, November 2-4, 2023, took place at the Chicago Marriott Naperville. The theme of the convention this year was Making a Difference One Student at a time. The members of the ICEC convention committee hosted an array of outstanding keynote speakers including Attorney Neal Takiff who addressed what we need to know about the top 10 cases in school law, Dr. Gloria McDaniel-Hall who addressed the essentials of belonging, and Lani Lawson on the essentials of optimism. Lani also presented a session on how to motivate students who refuse to work. In addition, we hosted more than 80 presentations by our outstanding colleagues in Illinois. Our presenters addressed topics related to academics; autism; behavior; community engagement; diversity; dyslexia; early childhood; elementary; family partnership; high school; home/hospital; legal; mental health; social-emotional learning; student engagement; transition; and more. We hosted Brooke Massey of CEC who announced that the Annual CEC 2028 Special Education Convention and Expo will take place in Chicago. In addition, we hosted 26 exhibitors, honored professional and student accomplishments, and so much more. We had a full house! Special educators, related service providers, teacher educators, preservice special educators, administrators, policy makers, parents, and special education advocates from all over Illinois attended this Convention. Save the date now, the 75th Annual ICEC Fall Convention will once again take place at the Chicago Marriott Naperville, October 31-November 2, 2024. Look out for more details in the New Year. We look forward to seeing you there.
The CEC Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia, July 7-9 was a jam-packed event. Topics covered included The State of the Council and CEC Structure; Activating the Value of CEC; Maximizing Your Why; Leadership in Communities; Avoiding Legal Pitfalls; and 20 breakout sessions on a variety of topics. Participants met the CEC staff and up to 120 individuals from the United States and Canada. The Legislative Summit followed immediately from July 9 -12 and focused on advocacy for our students and for the personnel and programs that serve them. More than 300 participants from across the United States attended this event. The Leadership Institute and Legislative Summit put our work as special education professionals in clear perspective. We learned how to engage with CEC as a professional support network and resource center and we learned how to leverage our professional commitment to advocate for and develop our field side-by-side with other pressing issues of our time. See the CEC website for more details: https://exceptionalchildren.org/about-us These events will take place on July 12-17 in 2024. If interested, I highly recommend your participation in both events.
CEC 2024 Convention & Expo March 13-16, 2024 in San Antonio, TX.... Each year at the CEC Convention & Expo, thousands of special education professionals from around the world come together to learn, share, grow, and connect. With hundreds of sessions on just about every topic in the field, the CEC Convention & Expo is THE professional development event for special educators to find research, tips, and strategies you can actually apply to supporting students with disabilities and/or gifts and talents.
