Big improvement are afoot in the WSCSS. We've been gathering feedback from our members and crunching the numbers, and we're excited to announce that the 2018 WSCSS conference will be held at Skamania resort in the Columbia Gorge.
This has been a decision the board has been considering for a few years, and there were many factors that encouraged us to move the conference to a new location:
Traveling over the pass on Sunday afternoon is an annual worry for attendees. Eastern WA teachers also consider Chelan to be “over a pass," depressing eastern WA attendance. A location that Western WA AND Eastern WA teachers can access without crossing a pass is paramount. Skamania is comparable in travel time from Seattle, but with no pass to worry about!
Costs at Campbell's have risen over 25% in the last few years, causing us to lose money on this conference the last two years. If we raised prices to cover their rising costs, it would make Chelan something that only teachers at the top of the pay scale could afford to attend, and continuing to lose money on the conference is unsustainable.
We conducted a 500+ member survey this past spring. WSCSS members reported interest in a new/rotating location for the spring conference.
We have many members in SW Washington who do not have a conference near them.
We’ve been working for two years on an agreement with the Oregon Council for the Social Studies to co-host a conference that Portland metro area teachers can attend more easily.
We look forward to seeing you one more time in Chelan this coming March and we're very excited to host you in Spring of 2018 at the beautiful Skamania Lodge in the Columbia Gorge!
While you're thinking about the spring conference, the call for proposals is now open! Visit wscss.org/chelan-conference-and-retreat to propose a conference session you're dying to share!
