MCSMRequest

Should MCTM waive the conference fee to attract more district-level supervisors to attend the MCTM banquet and/or conference?


 * Pluses:**
 * Reasons given in the e-mail all make sense and it would be beneficial to have these people at the conference. (Stew)
 * Waiving the conference fee for them is a great way to encourage them to attend. It will enhance our conference to have more supervisors there. If we waive the fee for them this year, we should look at the data (specifically how many supervisors actually used the offer) to decide what to do in the future. (Jennifer)
 * I like the idea of collecting the data for the future. Our idea was to have a separate registration for the supervisors, and a separate check-in table, so getting the data will be easy. (Sue)
 * I do want all of these people to be attending our meeting - as they should have been all along. With funding from outside sources missing, waiving their fee could make the difference between their coming or not. However (see my comments under minuses) (Honi)
 * I know it seems as if by waiving the registration fee for the supervisors, MCTM would in some way be favoring this group over the teachers but I would like everyone to consider a few issues. Because MCSM has a very small pool from which to pull from for their membership, their dues do not generate a large amount of money. One way for the group to add to their treasury is their two day retreat. Last year MCSM partnered with the science supervisors for the retreat. The vendor participation (which was significant) allowed MCSM to add approximately $2500.00 to their coffers. This year the science supervisors are meeting October 16th and 17th in a different part of the state. The decision was made to not participate because it would not allow supervisor attendance at MCTM. Instead, the supervisors are being asked to attend the two day retreat (which will include a hotel stay for many) starting with the MSDE briefing on the 16th at the Baltimore Yacht Club and finishing up on the 17th at the conference. The cost of the banquet would be paid for by each supervisor choosing to attend. MCSM will not have an opportunity to benefit financially from the vendors because MCTM already has that in place for their conference. For the 17th, a supervisor’s strand has been planned for the entire morning with the afternoon dedicated to vendor visits and participating in sessions. By waiving the conference registration fee for MCSM members only, the group will be able to offer an incentive for more supervisors to join their group. At the same time, the supervisors will be encouraged to increase their visibility in the vendor area (always a plus) and the afternoon break-out sessions. (Bonnie)
 * Good explanation Bonnie. I'm not sure who posted the second comment under minuses, but it intrigues me for several reasons: (1) I like the idea of offering to pay for those supervisors who are interested in attending, versus just saying that if they show up it will be free, (2) outside of the registration fee, there are costs associated with the lunches (which could be up to $600--granted, funding from the NSA-MEPP grant will likely still cover it), (3) we can package the offer the way Ed suggests, (4) the idea of reaching out to MCSM strengthens our partnership and we should be continuously working on that. I guess the next question is, do we force them to pay membership dues also, or leave it up to them to do that on their own? (Jon)
 * Bonnie has clearly explained the issues surrounding the situation. I do not think this would necessarily be an ongoing situation because MCSM may want to do the science/math retreat again next year (depending on date.) I view this as a reaching out to the supervisors as a good will gesture. (Sue) Oh- and I posted the other day, and don't know where that went!!


 * Minuses:**
 * Why set a precedent for this group? What about others who also deserve to have their conference fee waived, such as Math teachers? (Stew)
 * Someone once told me that anything worth going to is worth paying for. I would say I have a weird roundabout option. How about MCTM makes a donation to MCSM specifically for conference fees for the MCTM conference. Then, MCSM can pay for its supervisors to go. Is that too weird?
 * The above is an interesting idea. However, MCSM does not have tons of money (about $3,500). Most came from the vendors from this year's science/math retreat, which we will not have this year. (Sue)
 * I agree that this is an important group of people, but so are all of our members (math teachers). I think it would be great to have more supervisors attend, and perhaps a reduced rate for a combo banquet/conference rate (maybe just $20 total to encourage attendance at both?). I believe that we need to be fair to all of our members. (Ed)
 * I like Ed's idea. If we go with it, I still think we should make a special effort to collect and analyze the data. (Jennifer)
 * Why aren't they coming, in the first place? Perhaps we need to make sure that there are sessions that they'd be wanting to attend (panel discussions about mathematics instruction at the district level, research sessions on issues that are important to them ....). If we do this this year, will we have to do this every year? (Honi)
 * I think part of the issue of them not coming is that they are here for the MSDE meeting the day before and it entails two days out of the office and possibly a hotel stay. The conference committee has made a special effort this year to have a Supervisor's strand to encourage their participation. At this point, we have a draft of what the two day program would look like, and I think it will be worthwhile, and works with the vision of NCSM. (Sue)
 * While I too (cough, cough) like Ed's idea, it is something that I think we should do for EVERYONE. Also, we can't use $20 as a combined fee as then some will sign up for both but not show for one. This will wreck havoc on the banquet costs. We must therefore have a combined fee of at least $25, perhaps $30. (Stew)