Member Meetings>Spring 2008 Member Meeting
Spring Meeting
Responding to Childhood Trauma: Lessons Learned
May 14-17, 2008
Royal Sonesta Hotel
New Orleans, Louisiana
Online Registration is closed. If you are still looking to register, please contact Mai Chen at 617-618-2189. Please review the Collaborative's travel and cancellation policy before proceeding.
The topic for the meeting – Responding to Childhood Trauma: Lessons Learned – has generated much interest. Two highly regarded experts, Drs. Robert Anda and Carl Bell, have been lined up to provide attendees with valuable and practical knowledge regarding this important topic and the location of the meeting will provide an opportunity for our host district to share experiences relating to Hurricane Katrina, it's aftermath and the return of children to schools in the affected areas.
More information about our upcoming Spring Meeting will be available soon. Please keep checking back to learn more about meeting location, New Orleans information and more!
Keynote Speakers:
To help our members understand the impact and implications of childhood trauma on education in urban school districts we are pleased to announce two leading researchers and experts in the field who will speak in New Orleans.
Robert F. Anda, M.D., MS, has designed and conducted epidemiologic studies for more than 20 years. He was Co-Principal Investigator for the ACE Study; perhaps the largest scientific study of its kind, analyzing the relationship between multiple categories of childhood trauma and health and behavioral outcomes later in life. He has written more than 100 peer-reviewed and government publications, as well as several book chapters. He is currently a senior researcher at the Center for Disease Control (CDC). As a result of his research findings he has had several appearances on CNN News, The National Press Club, and provided information for national newspapers such as USA Today, as well as local and national radio.
Carl C. Bell, M.D., F.A.P.A., C.C.H.P., F.A.C. Psych. has practiced psychiatry for 35 years. He is internationally recognized lecturer and author; he has given numerous presentations on mental wellness, violence prevention, and traumatic stress caused by violence. He is the author of The Sanity of Survival: Reflections on Community Mental Health and Wellness and co-author of Suicide and Homicide Among Adolescents . Dr. Bell is also a clinical professor of psychiatry and public health in the School of Medicine at the University of Illinois. He has addressed mental wellness and violence prevention issues on the Today Show, Nightline, 60 Minutes, CBS Sunday Morning and Frontline; and his campaign to prevent Black on Black violence has been featured in several publications including Ebony, Jet, Essence, Emerge, the New York Times, Chicago Tribune Magazine, and People Magazine. In recognition of his efforts to reduce violence, he became the first recipient of the American Psychiatric Foundation's Minority Service Award in 2004. He is also the recipient of the American Psychiatric Association's Presidential Award.
New Saturday Event!
In an effort to help our members understand the magnitude of the impact of Hurricane Katrina and the challenges the students, faculty, and families of the school district have faced and continue to face, we are deviating from our usual format for the final morning session of our meeting. With the help of professionals from the community and school district, we are planning to tour some of the impacted areas and hear firsthand about responses to trauma, the lessons learned, and about the resiliency of the community and its people. Following the tour we will convene in a plenary session to debrief the experience with school and community leaders. As you plan for the meeting, keep this special segment in mind and keep checking back for more updated information.
Preliminary Agenda
| Wednesday, May 14, 2008 | |
|---|---|
| 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. | Consultancy Session with Recovery School District(optional) |
| Thursday, May 15, 2008 | |
|---|---|
| 8:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. | "Size-alike" Meetings (optional) |
| 10:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Collaborative Partner Focus Groups (optional) |
| 1:45 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Welcome and Dr. Carl Bell, Keynote Speaker |
| 3:45 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. | Q&A with Dr. Bell |
| 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. | Reception |
| Friday, May 16, 2008 | |
|---|---|
| 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. | Partner Expo |
| 7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. | Continental Breakfast |
| 8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. | Dr. Robert Anda, Keynote Speaker |
| 9:45 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. | Size-Alike Meetings |
| 10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. | Q&A with Dr. Anda |
| 12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. | Lunch |
| 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. | Concurrent Sessions |
| 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. | Cocktail Hour |
| Saturday, May 17, 2008 | |
|---|---|
| 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. | Continental Breakfast |
| 9:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. | Bus Tour |
| 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. | Discussion |
| 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | Wrap-up and Adjournment |
Registration Information
How to Register:
Participants must register by April 22nd, 2008. Upon receipt of your registration, you will receive a confirmation via email.
Click Here to Register Online
(using our secure server)
How to book your flight: Please review the Collaborative's travel and cancellation policy before proceeding.
Contact Stewart International Travel at 1-800-738-1575 by April 22, 2008 and ask for Pilar to book your flights and arrange for your ticket. For fast and efficient service when calling, please state that you are calling for the Urban Collaborative meeting and have the preferred dates and times of travel ready. Please be sure to take into consideration the pre-meeting sessions when booking your flight.
Hotel Information:
The meeting will be held at The Royal Sonesta Hotel. The room rate per night for a single or double room is $179 (plus 13% taxes). We can not guarantee the hotel's discounted room rate or availability after April 22, 2008 .
The Royal Sonesta Hotel
300 Bourbon Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: 1-504-586-0300
Fax: 1-504-586-0335
To make your reservation online: ( You will need a credit card to guarantee your reservation.)
- Click here.
- Select the dates you would like for your reservation and click "Show Availability".
- Click on "Education Development Center".
- Specify your room preferences and click "Make Reservation".
- Review the details of your stay and click "Continue Reservation".
- Complete your personal and credit card information, and click "Submit".
- The reduced rate for the Collaborative room block is $179 per night. (If you select a room that is not listed as $179 per night, you will NOT receive the room block rate and the Collaborative will not be held responsible for adjusting your rate.)
To make your reservation via telephone: ( You will need a credit card to guarantee your reservation.)
- Call toll free 1-504-586-0300.
- Be sure to mention the “Urban Collaborative” room block to receive the reduced room rate of $179 per night.
- Please have dates for your check-in and check-out ready .
- Please be sure to take into consideration the pre-meeting sessions when booking your room
Travel Policy
Extra Participants:
Districts are welcome to register additional participants to attend Collaborative meetings. The standard registration fee for extra participants is $350. Please make checks payable to Education Development Center, Inc., and send to: Mai Chen, Education Development Center, Inc., 55 Chapel Street, Newton, MA, 02458. All extra participants are responsible for their own transportation, room charges, meals, and incidentals. Extra participant registration fees are non-refundable, unless cancellations are made by April 29, 2008. Extra participants who do not cancel on or before April 29, 2008, will still be responsible for their registration fee. To cancel, please call Mai Chen at 617-618-2189.
Travel Policy:
Q: What does the Collaborative pay for?
A: As you know, one of the benefits of membership in the Collaborative is paid airfare to our bi-annual meetings. The number of airline tickets paid for by the Collaborative is dependent upon your school district's membership status:
- If you are a small urban school district, with enrollment of less than 15,000 students, your membership fee pays for one participant's airfare.
- If you are a medium urban school district, with enrollment of between 15,000 and 50,000 students, your membership fee pays for two participants' airfare.
- If you are a large urban school district, with enrollment of more than 50,000 students, your membership fee pays for three participants' airfare.
- For each auxiliary membership enrollment, you can add one paid airfare.
All participants are responsible for their own hotel fees, ground transportation, meals, and incidentals.
Q: Can I choose the flight I want?
A: The Collaborative and Stewart Travel will try their best to accommodate your travel preferences. However, in order to keep volatile airfare rates within budget, we seek out the most reasonable airfare at the time of booking and, in some cases, require a Saturday night stay over.
Q: Can I send additional representatives from my district?
A: Districts are welcome to register extra participants to attend Collaborative meetings. The standard registration fee for each extra participant is $350. Please make checks payable to Education Development Center, Inc., and send to: Mai Chen, Education Development Center, Inc., 55 Chapel Street, Newton, MA, 02458.
Q: What if I live locally and do not need to fly to the meeting?
A: For members that do not require airline travel, the district can substitute their airline cost benefit for extra participant registration fees. As with airline tickets, the number of registration fees paid for by the Collaborative depends upon your membership status. That is:
- For large districts, instead of paying the airfare for three participants, the Collaborative will waive the registration fees for three extra participants for a total of six registrants at no cost.
- For medium districts, instead of paying the airfare for two participants, the Collaborative will waive the registration fees for two extra participants for a total of four registrants at no cost.
- For small districts, instead of paying the airfare for one participant, the Collaborative will waive the registration fee for one extra participant for a total of two registrants at not cost.
- For each auxiliary membership enrollment, districts can substitute one extra participant registration fee.
In addition to the participant registration fees covered by the Collaborative, districts can send additional participants at their own expense. The registration fee for extra participants is detailed above.
Q: What if I need to make changes or cancel?
A: Please click here to email Mai Chen by Tuesday, April 29, 2008 if you need to cancel. In terms of airfare, once a ticket has been issued, the ticket holder is responsible for the costs associated with any changes and cancellations. Change fees include a $100 airline fee and a $35 Stewart Travel service fee along with the difference in airfare.
Extra participant registration fees are non-refundable, unless cancellations are made by April 29, 2008. Extra participants who do not cancel before April 29th will still be responsible for their registration fee.
Things to Do in New Orleans
To find out more information about local attractions, shopping, restaurants in New Orleans, please visit the following links:
- The Royal Sonesta Hotel www.sonesta.com
- New Orleans Convention and Visitor's Bureau www.neworleanscvb.com
- Things to Do in New Orleans www.neworleans.com
- Dining www.neworleansrestaurants.com
- Local Transportation www.neworleanstransportation.com
