Attendees Span North America as Conference Registration Passes Early Deadline
by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, Independent Educational Consultants Association
One of the unexpected consequences of holding our first-ever meeting outside of the United States has been the musings of some about whether “consultants are really going to Canada” for the conference, or, in the minds of IECA members, whether schools, colleges, and program representatives are planning to leap the border to take part. On a near daily basis we get e-mails and phone calls asking if “most” of the attendees will be coming from Canada. So with our early bird deadline a little behind us, and now eight weeks prior to the opening of the conference, I wanted to respond to those inquiries.
We completed the early-bird registration with over 550 attendees—a number that will grow steadily over the remaining two months. Among colleges and traditional day and boarding schools, our early registration figures are up as compared to a year ago, with the number of consultants, therapeutic programs, and vendors steady. In fact we are close to having more colleges registered here—at eight weeks still to go—as we had at our San Francisco conference. Our best guess now is for a terrific turnout—but not so crowded that networking and meeting are inhibited in any way.
So are they all Canadians? Hardly. We are excited by the many Canadian institutions that are joining us. Among the first-time attendees are 14 colleges from five Canadian provinces, from Nova Scotia to British Columbia (and many who have joined us in the past). Between these new schools, unaffiliated consultants, and incredible presenters on topics from innovative teaching to adolescent brain theory and EQ, our Canadian participants will add tremendously to the New Perspectives many seek at IECA Conferences. Yet for every Canadian college participating, two U.S. colleges are registered. Among summer, gap year, and traditional boarding schools, 95% are U.S.-based, and among the 230 therapeutic school and program participants already signed up, all but a handful are from the States. Among consultants, we have registrants from Canada, Africa, Asia, and South America, but the overwhelming number, more than 90% are American.
If you have not yet decided about attending, please explore the conference schedule, our list of breakouts, and presenters (all of this information can be found on our Web site). We have a number of exciting new events planned in Conference Central and throughout the conference. We look forward to seeing you in Toronto this spring!
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