Conference Overview

Over the last three years, the Holmes Partnership has planned each annual conference theme around a portion of the HP Action Agenda: Partner with policymakers (2002); Quality education research (2003); and Building local capacity (2004). This year, the Holmes Partnership annual conference theme will focus on the Action Agenda as a whole and within the context of the changing needs of students, parents, teachers, and communities.

Educational demographic projections indicate that over the next 30 years, the United States will experience an increase in the number of students experiencing poverty, an increase in the diversity of students, an increase in the educational needs of students, and increased mobility among students and their families. These projections will have profound and far-reaching social, political, and economic implications for students, teachers, teacher educators, and schools in the United States.

At the 2005 Holmes Partnership conference, Partners for Education in a Changing Society, conference participants will hear speakers address how teachers, K-12 administrators, and teacher educators can anticipate these significant demographic shifts. Presentations will focus on how these challenges will impact education policy and thereby K-12 education and the preparation of teachers. Local partnerships that are already successfully addressing these issues will be showcased throughout the conference through Promising Practices and Tabletop sessions.

Download the 2005 conference brochure