2010 D.A.T.E. Summer Institute

Over 300 educators attended the D.A.T.E. Summer Institute. We would like to thank all the participants who helped make the event a success.

Reminder: Reimbursement Forms are due by July 31

Click here to download all Summer Institute materials including reimbursement forms.

Event Overview

View the Summer Institute Program

View the Breakout Session Schedule

View the Travel Reimbursement Guidelines

With the completion of D.A.T.E. Cycle 1, Year 2, Texas school districts have been engaged in the nation’s largest statewide strategic compensation grant program for two years.  With Cycle 2 districts starting implementation in the fall, the D.A.T.E. Technical Assistance Center, at the Institute for Public School Initiatives (IPSI) invites all educators, administrators, central office staff, and other stakeholders the opportunity to reflect upon their experience at using D.A.T.E. to reward and foster quality instruction in order to increase student achievement.  The event will be held June 28-30, 2010 at the JW Marriott Hill Country in San Antonio, Texas.

The Technical Assistance Center will host a three-day summer institute to explore various challenges and opportunities in the successful design, implementation, evaluation, and sustainability of D.A.T.E. programs. The institute will provide Texas school district personnel the opportunity to share lessons learned, network with each other and outside organizations to examine all aspects of  D.A.T.E., including:

• Program Design
• Program Implementation
• Program Evaluation and Modification
• Communication and Stakeholder Engagement
• Program Sustainability
• Policy and Legislation

Goals

The D.A.T.E. Summer Institute is intended to accomplish the following goals:

1. Expand D.A.T.E. districts’ knowledge about strategic compensation program design and implementation.
2.  Conduct hands-on working sessions to develop tools on effective program design and implementation.
3. Provide networking opportunities for districts to share ideas and lessons learned.
4. Gather information and feedback on D.A.T.E. program outcomes, challenges, and modifications for future cycles.
5. Identify future district needs and priorities and collect feedback on D.A.T.E. program lessons learned.

Presenters and participants will be provided the opportunity to engage in panel discussions, break-out sessions led by program experts, and strategic design sessions aimed at incorporating lessons learned in individual district strategic compensation programs and planning the next steps.

Travel Reimbursement

There is no registration fee for this event, but space is limited.

The Technical Assistance Center will reimburse the travel for the first 300 school district personnel who register, up to five people per district. The Technical Assistance Center will directly pay hotel rooms on the nights of June 28 and 29.

View the Travel Reimbursement Guidelines

Call for Proposals for Breakout Sessions

Thanks to all who submitted proposals for breakout sessions. The final breakout schedule is now posted and we are very excited about the institute's offerings.

Overview

The District Awards for Teacher Excellence (D.A.T.E.) Technical Assistance Center invites school districts, professional associations, and educational organizations to submit breakout session proposals for the 2010 D.A.T.E. Summer Institute, the first ever conference for the approximately 400 Texas school districts participating in the nation’s largest state-level strategic compensation program. Participation in the conference will be entirely free of charge for presenters and participants, including travel. The event will be held June 28-30, 2010 at the JW Marriott Hill Country in San Antonio, Texas.

The deadline for proposal submission is April 12, 2010 by 5:00pm Central Standard Time. Proposals should be submitted via email to txeducatorawards@utsystem.edu.

Download the Proposal Explanation and Submission Form

Goals

The D.A.T.E. Summer Institute is intended to accomplish the following goals:

1. Expand D.A.T.E. districts’ knowledge about strategic compensation program design and implementation.
2.  Conduct hands-on working sessions to develop tools on effective program design and implementation.
3. Provide networking opportunities for districts to share ideas and lessons learned.
4. Gather information and feedback on D.A.T.E. program outcomes, challenges, and modifications for future cycles.
5. Identify future district needs and priorities and collect feedback on D.A.T.E. program lessons learned.

Institute attendees will consist of D.A.T.E. grant school district personnel, including program managers, grant writers, central office staff, superintendents, school board members, campus administrators, and campus staff.

The first day of the Institute will consist of presentations and panels to discuss strategic compensation in Texas and share lessons learned from the first two years of D.A.T.E. The breakout sessions will occur on the second day of the Institute. Facilitators will lead up to three one-hour breakout sessions. Proposal submissions should outline a one-hour session.Session topics may include (but are not limited to):

1. Strategic Compensation Program Design and Evaluation
2. Program Implementation
3. Communication and Stakeholder Engagement
4. Program Sustainability
5. Policy and Legislation

Proposal Criteria

Please submit proposals using this proposal form. Proposals must include the following information:

1. Name, affiliation, and contact information for all session leaders
2. Session title
3. Target audience
4. Brief overview of the session
5. Explanation of how your session will help meet Institute goals
6. Description of how attendees will benefit from the session. 
7. Outline of any presentations, activities, and discussion.

Proposals are due to the D.A.T.E. Technical Assistance Center by April 12, 2010. Proposals should be submitted via email to txeducatorawards@utsystem.edu. Questions regarding the Institute and proposals can be directed to the Technical Assistance Center at (512) 579-5050.

Proposal Evaluation

Proposals will be evaluated based on their relevance to Institute goals and benefit to D.A.T.E. districts. Preference will be given to sessions that:

1. Are consistent with Institute goals
2. Expand attendees' current knowledge
3. Provide useful information, skills, or ideas
4. Actively engage participants
5. Include original material
6. Are based on real school experiences

Proposal reviewers will also assess proposals based on the following criteria:

1. The timeliness of the information
2. The clarity of the presentation
3. Past experience with the topic
4. Use of concrete examples to support the topic
5. Completeness of proposal

N.B. Sessions cannot endorse, recommend, or advertise third party commercial vendors or products.

Selection Process

After submission, the D.A.T.E. Technical Assistance team will review all proposals. Final decisions on proposal acceptance will be made by April 16, 2010. The number of winning proposals will be based on the quality of submissions.

Upon selection, the Technical Assistance team will contact all presenters to review session content. Final presentations and all materials must be submitted electronically by May 14, 2010 using the Institute format and templates (to be provided). Early submissions are welcome. Upon receipt of presentations and materials, the Technical Assistance team may request modifications. All modifications must be completed and approved by May 28, 2010.

Presenters will be compensated for both preparation time and facilitation of the breakout sessions. All travel expenses will be reimbursed. All conference materials will be published and made available for worldwide distribution.

The Technical Assistance Team thanks you in advance for your interest in submission and looks forward to partnering with those committed to helping fellow educators improve the critical work of educator compensation reform.

Download the Proposal Explanation and Submission Form

All materials are provided in .pdf format. Download the Free Adobe Reader here.

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