When DG Elmore and I became the new owners of Solution Tree, then known as National Educational Service (NES), nearly all of the events were \u2018themed\u2019 events such as Strategies for Reaching Angry and Disruptive Youth<\/i>. \u00a0Multiple sessions built around the at-risk youth theme. \u00a0The only exception that year was the first ever PLC Institute to be held at Mt. Tremblant in French Quebec Canada.\u00a0 Why Tremblant?\u00a0 Well from what I could tell it was because the previous owner, and sitting NES President, spoke French fluently and it seemed like a cool location\u2026if you could find it.\u00a0 This PLC event was mostly based on a new book, Professional Learning Communities at Work,<\/i> and the two authors, Rick DuFour and Bob Eaker, presented the bulk of the sessions to a total of 90 attendees.<\/p>\n
Conferences are high-risk endeavors, and in year one they ended up being a huge part of the significant losses NES incurred.\u00a0 The following summer, after a disastrous Spring Conference season, I terminated all future conferences for the company with the exception of the August PLC Summer Institute, relocated to Hilton Head, South Carolina.\u00a0 I soon realized why there was considerable conference space in Hilton Head in August\u2026.OH MY WAS IT HOT!\u00a0 I believe it hit 105 all three days, but we still had 76 attendees participate in a very good event due to content, delivery and the TLC given to all.\u00a0 We managed expenses well and broke even.\u00a0 At 50 attendees we gave them water, at 55 we added ice, at 60 they got a cookie and an apple, etc.<\/p>\n
The biggest concern for the future of this event was the location and how to keep registration costs reasonable. \u00a0Rick was very kind and offered up Adlai Stevenson High School as the new host site.\u00a0 We used some of his faculty for additional breakout sessions, the Lincolnshire Marriott for housing, the Stevenson school buses for transportation and the kitchen to prepare meals for the 130 attendees. Registrations continued to grow, and in 2001 we jumped to 300 attendees at Stevenson, and in 2002 we hosted PLC Institutes at Stevenson and two other locations, all schools.\u00a0 The rest is history.<\/p>\n
From day one I loved the PLC Institute format of basing an entire event around a single book, or author\u2019s work.\u00a0 And I quickly realized it was critically important to consider the authors as partners, not hired presenters like so many conference providers.\u00a0\u00a0 Our authors have always been very involved in what sessions needed to be presented and by whom, and what content needed to be covered in each keynote.<\/p>\n
You see, nobody knows the authors work better than the author, and their ultimate goal is to have their work understood, embraced and implemented with a focus on student achievement.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t get into education to make money; they got into education to make a difference.\u00a0 To help kids succeed.\u00a0 An event is just one medium we use so the author can do just that\u2026make a difference.\u00a0 And that is why we do it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When DG Elmore and I became the new owners of Solution Tree, then known as National Educational Service (NES), nearly all of the events were \u2018themed\u2019 events such as Strategies for Reaching Angry and Disruptive Youth. \u00a0Multiple sessions built around … Continue reading