Teaching & Learning>TEIC07-08

A Celebration of Great Teaching:
TSTA's Educational Issues Conference

Update: Click for the Revised Workshop Schedule

It’s fun, it’s motivational, and it’s coming soon! “A Celebration of Great Teaching,” TSTA’s Educational Issues Conference, is January 11-13, 2008, at the Hilton Austin Airport Hotel.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: Our keynote speakers are House Public Education Committee Chair Rob Eissler, Senator Leticia Van de Putte, and Harvey Kronberg of the Quorum Report.

Chairman Rob Eissler is the President of Eissler and Associates, an executive recruiting firm based in The Woodlands.  He received a B.A. in Architecture from Princeton University, and then served as a carrier-based attack pilot on the USS John F. Kennedy in the United States Navy.  Eissler spent 18 years on  the Conroe ISD Board of Trustees, including two terms as President.  In 1999, he was named one of 25 “Original Hometown Heroes” for The Woodlands by The Woodlands Villager/Courier newspapers and The Woodlands Operating Company, L.P.  The Chamber of Commerce named him “Citizen of the Year” in 1999,  where he served as the Chairman of the Board in 1988.  Eissler has also served as the President of the Woodlands Rotary Club and as a board member of the South Montgomery Y.M.C.A.  He coached youth sports  for 20 years and is well known as  one of the voices of High School Football on the local radio broadcast of area games.

Eissler was elected to represent District 15 as State Representative in November of 2002.  In his third session, he was appointed to serve as Chairman of the Public Education Committee.  He also serves on the Human Services Committee.   Since serving in the legislature  Eissler has received awards from Texas Council of  Special Education Administrators,  Texas Foreign Language Association, Texas Art Education Association, and Texas Music Educators Association.  In May, 2005 Eissler was  named one of the Top Texas Legislators of the 79th Legislative Session by Capitol Inside.  He was presented with the Star Award by Texans Standing Tall in recognition of his efforts during the 79th Legislature to reduce and prevent the consequences of underage alcohol use and binge drinking.  He was recently listed as Honorable Mention in Texas Monthly magazine’s Ten Best Legislators issue.  

Senator Leticia Van de Putte, a pharmacist for more than 25 years, represents a large portion of San Antonio. She has been elected to four terms in the Texas Senate, following five terms as a state representative.

A former chair of the Texas Senate Hispanic Caucus, she currently chairs the Texas Senate Democratic Caucus. Senator Van de Putte is also a former president of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators. Senator Van de Putte took office as president of the National Conference of State Legislatures in 2006 and is the first Texan and the first Hispanic woman ever to chair the organization.

During the past two decades, Senator Van de Putte has been honored with numerous awards such as the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill Texas Legislative Champion Award, the United Way of San Antonio’s Children's Championship Award, the League of United Latin American Citizens' Legislative Recognition Award, the Mexican American Unity Council’s Albert Pena, Jr. Life Time Achievement Award, and the American Lung Association’s Public Policy Award.

She currently chairs the Veteran Affairs and Military Installations Committee in the Texas Senate, and also is a member of the Senate committees on Education, Administration, and Business and Commerce.

The senator was a Kellogg Fellow at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1993. She lives in San Antonio with her husband of 27 years, Pete, and has six children.

Harvey Kronberg is the writer, editor, and publisher of the Quorum Report, which is self-described as “a multi-dimensional news, information and gossip source for the politically involved” that combines “fast breaking news along with institutional memory and a healthy skepticism as befits a publication whose subscribers include most of Texas elected officials, most of the lobby as well as most law firms with a legislative practice.”

Former Lt. Governor Bob Bullock called Kronberg “the Capitol’s most astute observer.” He has been covering Texas politics since 1989. In addition to the Quorum, he is also a political commentator for News 8 Austin, a 24- hour news channel serving central Texas, and he has been cited in publications as diverse as Congressional Quarterly, The Wall Street Journal, The Dallas Morning News, The Houston Chronicle, and The Christian Science Monitor.

WORKSHOPS: Presenters will include educational award winners and experts. Click for Complete Workshop Information

AGENDA 

Friday
Registration 6:00-10:00 pm
Reception: 8:30-10:00 pm

Saturday
Registration 7:00-10:30 am
Sessions 9:00-10:30 am
Break 10:30-10:45 am
Sessions 10:45 am-12:15 pm
Lunch 12:30-2:15 pm
Sessions 2:30-4:00 pm
Sessions 4:15-5:45 pm
Dinner 7:00-8:30 pm

Sunday
Sessions 8:30-10:30 am
Closing Brunch  10:30 am-noon

Continuing Professional Education Credit: TSTA is an approved continuing professional education provider. For those individuals who are on renewable certificates and need continuing professional education, we will offer workshops that can be taken for credit. 

Hotel Reservations: The conference will once again be held at the Hilton Austin Airport Hotel at 9515 New Airport Drive in Austin. The hotel is located off Hwy. 71, near the Austin Bergstrom International Airport. Go to www.webeventplanner.com/directory/hiltonaustinairport for directions. As of January 2008, the Hilton will become a 100% smoke free hotel. 

Hotel reservations must be received by the Hilton by December 19 to guarantee occupancy and the TSTA rate. The rate for a single or double room is $94; a triple room is $104; and a quad room is $114 plus local taxes and fees (currently 15%). To make reservations please call 800-584-5091 or 512-385-6767 (hotel staff at the Hilton Austin Airport Hotel are most familiar with the TSTA conference and the contracted rate) or use the form below to mail it in. 

You can also download a hotel reservation form and mail it directly to the hotel. Be sure to guarantee your reservation with a credit card or check if you plan to arrive later than 6:00 p.m. on the date of arrival. Check-in time is 3:00 p.m. on the day of arrival; if you arrive earlier, the hotel may or may not be able to check you in, provide a room key and let you in to your room, based on the room being cleaned from a prior guest's stay. Check out time is before noon on the day of departure. Please note, if you check out prior to the scheduled checkout date, you will incur an early departure fee of $50 plus taxes and fees. Download Hotel Reservation Form

Conference Registration:  Download your conference registration form, complete it, and send it, along with the appropriate payment, to TSTA, Attention: Lori Buckner, 316 West 12th Street, Austin, TX 78701. TSTA cannot guarantee that you will be registered for the sessions of your choice if your conference registration form is received at TSTA Headquarters after December 19.

If your registration form is postmarked by Saturday, December 1, you qualify for an Early Bird Special Rate of $109 for each participant. For registration forms postmarked beginning Monday, December 3, the fee is $129, and onsite registration will be $159. Non-members may register for $199. Download Conference Registration Form