About ESD 112
Who Are We?
Educational Service District 112 is one of nine statutory regional service agencies in the state of Washington. Created by the legislature more than 30 years ago, the expressed purpose of ESDs is to assure equal educational opportunities for quality education and lifelong learning for all. In addition to acting as a liaison between local districts and the State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to deliver programs mandated by the state, Washington’s ESDs are public entities, which operate in a highly entrepreneurial fashion. We blend the benevolence of the public sector with the spirit and ingenuity of the private sector.
Scope of Service
They say that necessity is the mother of invention. That certainly is true at ESD 112, where almost 250 innovative programs have evolved over the past 32 years to meet the emerging needs of more than 100,000 students in 200 schools.
More than
600 ESD 112 professionals are positioned in 30 public school districts
and 23 private schools in Southwest Washington’s six counties including
Clark, Skamania, Cowlitz, Wahkiakum, Klickitat and Pacific. We also serve
the Washington State School for the Blind and the Washington School for
the Deaf, and assist with home schooling and other educational inquiries.
Our scope of services is wide and varied. It includes but is not limited to curriculum; instructional support and assessment; business operations; transportation; youth employment; printing; public relations; data processing; payroll; fingerprinting; network support; a statewide K-20 computer network; traffic safety education; construction management; preschool programs; homeless transportation; para-educator training; and special education.
The National Perspective
ESD 112 is similar to other regional support systems throughout the country working to stretch limited dollars over demands for ever increasing services. Our agency is part of a larger network of regional educational entities under the umbrella of the Association of Educational Service Agencies (AESA). Nationwide, the value of these innovative service agencies has been emphasized by their inclusion in reauthorization language of federal school mandates and funding. One of the great strengths of ESDs is their ability to pool resources for the common benefit of students and taxpayers.