University of Delaware
Office of Public Relations
UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 23, March 13


            Frank B. Murray named Holmes executive director
     
     Frank B. Murray, H. Rodney Sharp Professor of
Educational Studies and Psychology, was appointed executive
director of the Holmes Partnership at the organization's
first conference in January in St. Louis. Murray had been
serving as interim president.
     The Homes Partnership is a recently formed consortium
of research universities, public school districts and
organizations that represent professional educators. Its
mission is to establish major initiatives for the education
of professionals who work in schools.
     The partnership is the successor to the Holmes Group,
an educational reform group composed of deans of colleges of
education. Murray served as chairperson of its national
board since 1990.
     The Holmes Partnership represents 75 partnerships of
universities, schools and national organizations. More than
500 teachers, school administrators, university faculty,
deans and association executives attended the first Holmes
Partnership conference, including representatives of the
American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, the
National Education Association, the American Federation of
Teachers, the National Board for Professional Teaching
Standards, the American Association of School
Administrators, the National Policy Board for Educational
Administration and the National Staff Development Council.
     The issues addressed by the organization in the first
phase of its work include
     * promotion and tenure criteria for university faculty
in professional development schools;
     * definition of the role and functions of clinical
educators and field professors;
     * creation of a core curriculum for the professional
education of teachers, administrators and educational
specialists;
     * development of full service professional development
schools and accreditation standards for them;
     * development of model state policies to support
reform;
     * charting a national research agenda for the
professional development of educators and the development of
benchmarks for success of the partnership;
     * advancement of an equity agenda in all aspects of the
reform initiative; and
     * development of an urban network of Holmes
Partnerships.
     The Delaware member of the Holmes Partnership is the
newly formed Delaware Partnership which currently consists
of the University of Delaware, the Delaware State Education
Association, the Delaware Professional Standards Council,
the Delaware Association of School Administrators and
several Delaware school districts.
     "The Holmes Partnership at the national level and the
Delaware Partnership at the local level are a further step
in unifying the profession of education, a goal of the
modern reform movement," Murray said.
     "The problems of schooling are far too great for any
one member of the profession to solve alone. Their solutions
depend upon the formation of partnerships of members
dedicated to creating a genuine profession of teaching."