It seems there is a new conference style that will be very helpful for professionals in the network of private parent-choice residential schools and programs. I just finished the first day of a day and a half conference hosted by School Connections here in La Jolla, California. Duplicating previous conferences they had hosted in Baltimore, Maryland, this was designed for special needs schools and programs using the same format that has been successful in their East Coast conferences.

The format consists of multiple one-on-one meetings between school and program representatives and Educational Consultants, each lasting 25 minutes. It is designed to allow the chance for consultants and program/school representatives to get to know each other in a relaxed uninterrupted manner. With a little over 25 schools and programs and an equal number of educational consultants, the numbers of participants are purposefully kept small to avoid the massive rush found in larger conferences. The format is a little similar to what we have seen in advertisements of speed-dating. In this case each school and program set up a booth, and at a signal, the consultants moved to the next table on their schedule.

Organizers Patrick Finn and Carrie Sapienza explained that Patrick had been impressed by similar conferences held in Europe and elsewhere around the world, and they wanted to bring that experience to the States.

Tonight, after the first day, the reaction was almost universal among the attendees that this kind of networking was exactly what they had been looking for from other professional conferences. In my view, although rather intense, this was well worth my time attending. I had the chance to catch up on the news from many old friends, as well as make many new friends. And, the group was small enough that we all had a chance to meet each other and exchange information without interruptions, either during scheduled times or during off times.
I'm definitely planning to sign up for the next one.