Tips and Resources

Unleash your power of persuasion.

You want to attend TCEA 2023. Now you’ve just got to convince your leadership to send you. But how? Here are some top tips and resources to help you get to TCEA’s Convention and Exposition in San Antonio, Texas.

We’ve even created some resources for you to personalize and hand to your leader:

Tip 1: Outline the big picture benefits in 1-2-3.

Attending convention won’t just benefit you, right? It will also benefit your students, your colleagues, and your school. Lay it all out for your leader, and attach the impact worksheet to your letter.

1. Goals: Outline your goals and/or your school’s goals.
2. Sessions: Show the sessions you’ll attend to help you achieve these goals.
3. Impact: Explain the impact attending TCEA 2023 will have on meeting your goals.

Tip 2: Offer to share when you get back.

After outlining what sessions you’ll attend and how these will have big picture benefits, let your leadership know you’ll spread the love with your colleagues. And go ahead and tell them how. Willing to share in a staff meeting, during a Tech Tuesday, on an in-service or teacher work day? Tell them!

Tip 3: Explain how you’ll plan for your absence. 

Assure your leader that there will be a continuation of learning while you’re out. Whether it’s setting up lessons, videos, and activities in your learning management system or sending detailed lesson plans with resources and materials to your pre-planned sub, you always put your students first. 

Tip 4: Gather evidence from previous attendees.

Know others who’ve attended TCEA’s Convention & Exposition? Ask them about the specific benefits of their experience and, with permission, add this information to your persuasive “why I should attend TCEA 2023” campaign. There’s nothing more convincing than hearing supporting evidence from multiple sources.

Tip 5: Take advantage of early bird and advanced pricing discounts.

Let leadership know that the sooner you register the better is it for the budget! Get $100 off a full registration badge or $60 off a one-day badge through November 4 with early bird pricing. And through January 10, get advanced pricing with $50 off a full registration badge and $30 off a one-day badge.

Tip 6: Lay out all the expenses.

Cut down on the back-and-forth communication and save you and your leader time! Use this expense sheet to calculate conference expenses for your leader in advance. This sheet makes it easy to calculate per diem gas and food expenses, and you can add your registration badge cost and hotel expenses into the mix to get a full calculation.

Tip 7: Schedule a quick meeting.

In a brief meeting, go over the very powerfully persuasive information you’ve prepared about why you should attend convention. And to make this meeting as easy as possible, we’ve created an incredibly convincing template for you. Just fill it in, and you’ll be ready to go. (Ready to go to TCEA 2023, that is.)