Educational Service Agency Support

This post is part of a series inviting discussion, comments and reflection on the results of my dissertation.

This set of questions tried to determine what type of support the coordinators in my study received from educational service agencies.

What is an ESA?

An educational service agency provides support and services to local districts. Read more about them in the U.S. at the Association of Educational Service Agencies. In Michigan they are called ISDs or RESAs or ESDs. In New York they are BOCES; in Texas ESCs; in Wisconsin CESAs, in Pennsylvania IUs. ESAs represented in the study are listed below. You’ll notice that some of them are organizations other than an ESA including consortiums, statewide networks, and large school districts that offer services similar to ESAs.  The organizations in Canada that stand out are Ontario’s ABEL, KCDC, and Alberta’s Regional Leads Network. How many of these do you know?!

  • ABEL
  • ACELINK
  • BCISD (now Berrien RESA)
  • CESA 11
  • Carbon Lehigh IU
  • Chester County IU
  • CIESC
  • Clare Gladwin RESD
  • CREC
  • CSD
  • Dallas ISD
  • Edmonton Public School Board
  • EEZ NYIT
  • ERVING
  • ESC 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 18, 20 (TX)
  • ETECH
  • Garden State Distance Learning Consortium
  • Genesee Valley BOCES
  • Graham County Consortium
  • GST BOCES
  • Hawaii DOE
  • Pinal ITV Consortium
  • IU 1, 13 (PA)
  • Jefferson-Lewis BOCES
  • KCDC
  • Macomb ISD
  • MAGPI
  • MCOE
  • Montgomery IU
  • NCOCC
  • NYCDOE
  • OAISD
  • Oakland ISD
  • OU BOCES
  • REMC 5
  • REMC 7
  • Saginaw ISD
  • SEOVEC
  • Shasta County Office of Education
  • SOITA
  • South Central Kansas ESC
  • TIES
  • VCRLN
  • ESD 112
  • Wilson Education Center

Do You Receive Support from an ESA?

ESA Support

Does Your ESA Create and Facilitate Free Programming?

ESA Facilitates Programming

Does Your ESA Subsidize Programming from Content Providers?

ESA Subsidizes Programming

What percent of your VCs from 2007-2008 were provided or facilitated by your ESA?

Isn’t it interesting that this graph seems to show basically all or nothing with very little in between?
ESA: Percent Programming Provided by ESA

Your Turn

What do you think?

  • Schools: What videoconferencing services do you receive from your ESA? What services do you wish you could receive?
  • Schools: What services do you think are most essential from your ESA?
  • ESAs: What services do you think are essential to provide to your school districts?
  • What types of programs should ESAs facilitate and provide?

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