Inside the exhibit hall at the AASA national conference in San Diego, attendees will find the Knowledge Exchange Theatre, the social media lounge, dozens of roundtable presentations and more than 210 exhibitors ready to answer questions about services and products in K-12 education. About 40 percent of the exhibitors are first-timers at the AASA conference.

A School Safety and Security Pavilion will feature 16 vendors with safety advice and demonstrations of communications software that puts all staff on alert in real time. Superintendents can benefit from face-to-face conversations with vendors and pick up information to take home to colleagues.  

The product and service providers represent an array of fields in K-12 schooling — technology, student assessment, educational and administrative software, executive search services, financial services, facility and grounds maintenance, professional development, school safety, health and transportation. Several nonprofits and professional organizations also are represented. (See the conference program book and program addendum for full list. The floor plan can be viewed at nce.aasa.org/exhibitors.)

The AASA Social Media Lounge provides a space for attendees to meet and greet association staff and fellow educators and learn about using platforms for using social tools. An internet station is located on the floor of the NCE marketplace so attendees are able to check e-mail.

Conference-goers will find hour-long Thought Leader sessions on Thursday, Feb. 13, and Friday, Feb. 14, in the Knowledge Exchange Theatre. (See schedule in the conference program book.)

Tucked away in one corner of the exhibit hall are a dozen tables, the site of roundtable discussions over the conference’s first two days. These 30-minute sessions cover a full range of topics, including social-emotional learning, safe schools, equity, women in leadership and computer science for all students. (See pages 114-123 in the conference program for details.)

Exhibit hall hours are 7:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Feb. 13 and 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 14. Free coffee will be available in the NCE Marketplace from 7:45-9 a.m. on the first day, and free snacks are available 1:45-2:45 p.m. on the second day.

(Liz Griffin is senior reporter of AASA’s Conference Daily Online and managing editor of School Administrator magazine.)