Establishing a new Professional Chapter can be a truly exciting and rewarding process.  Just because there isn’t a Professional Chapter in your area doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of Kappa Delta Pi members close by.  The Membership and Chapter Services Department is here to assist you and support your new Professional Chapter.  Contact us to find out more about connecting with your fellow educators and starting a brand new Professional Chapter or Chalk Talk Café today!
• Professional Chapters • How do I start a Professional Chapter?
• Chalk Talk Café • Requirements for a Professional Chapter
Professional Chapters

Professional Chapters provide an instant network of friendship and support, no matter where life takes you. They foster social relations and provide a personal and professional support structure for friendship, social activities, networking, and professional development.

  Three types of Professional Chapters:

City Chapters — Members are connected by a geographical region, regardless of their collegiate chapter affiliation. 

Alumni Chapters — Members are connected through the same collegiate chapter affiliation.

District/Building Chapters — Members are connected because they work in the same school district or building (grade school, middle school, high school).  These chapters typically work with the administration to assist in providing required professional development or mentoring, as well as the KDP experience.

Traditional Professional Chapters connect members of all ages, and Chalk Talk Cafés generally connect members who are between the ages of 21 and 31.

Chalk Talk Café

A Chalk Talk Café is designed to offer a bridge from the undergraduate chapter experience into life as a young educational professional. The Chalk Talk Café provides a mechanism for young KDP members to meet socially and for personal and professional networking in a less structured format than a Professional Chapter. There are no fees to apply and no expectations for appointed officers, programming, or activities. This informal and self-styled chapter is geared toward Kadelpians who have graduated within the previous 10 years. The goal of a Chalk Talk Café is to promote programming and activities pertinent to this age group and that allow flexibility in events and scheduling, depending on the group's needs. Potential Chalk Talk organizers and leaders are encouraged to develop a structure that appeals and reaches out to the younger members! Click here to find out how to start a Chalk Talk Café group.

How do I start a Professional Chapter? 

1.

Contact the Membership and Chapter Services Department to discuss the possibility of starting a Professional Chapter.  A staff member will provide you with a list of KDP members in your area, a complete start-up packet, and put you in touch with your Regional Chapter Coordinator, who can assist you in getting a new chapter off the ground.
2.

Send out an e-mail to other KDP members to find out who would be interested in forming a chapter. Enlist several local members to help you get started.
3.

Plan a kick-off event. Pick a centrally located place that will accommodate participants, yet small and comfortable enough to invite conversation.
4.

Send out a postal communication announcing your first official meeting at least one month in advance.
5.

At the event, decide on a handful of upcoming events and work toward completing your chapter application so that you can receive your charter.

Requirements for Professional Chapters
Upon approval as a professional chapter, the following requirements need to be met annually for the chapter to maintain its professional-chapter status:
• Maintain at least 10 members in the chapter;
• Hold at least two meetings during the year, July 1–June 30;
• Hold at least one initiation of new members during the year, July 1–June 30;
• Send a representative to at least one Society meeting each biennium;
• File required Annual Financial Reports and E-Postcard no later than August 1;
• Elect chapter officers no later than July 1, and submit their names and contact information within two weeks after elections: required officers are President, Treasurer, and Membership Chair; and
• Submit new-member information and the national membership fee to Society Headquarters within two weeks of the initiation of each new member.
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