About AESD
Mission
To ensure equity and excellence in education through effective services delivered statewide.
Vision
To inspire and foster equity, opportunity, and results through meaningful support of all school districts.
What is the AESD Network?
Each of Washington’s nine Educational Service Districts (ESDs) provides essential local services, responsive to their region’s communities. Together, they form a network that leverages each other’s strengths, and supports all students and schools statewide.
AESD Strategic Plan (2018 – 2021)
Our Values
Our Goals
Goal 1: Strategic Relationships
Develop strategic relationships
Vision: To grow a sustainable future through strategic relationships
Goal 2: Grow the Network
Enhance the Network and provide needed services with a focus on quality and impact.
Vision: To provide seamless and nimble services
Goal 3: Tell our story
Vision: ESDs are an integral and valuable part of the education eco system in Washington State
About Educational Service Districts
In 1969, Educational Service Districts (ESDs) were formed when individual County Superintendent of School offices were consolidated and reorganized to reduce duplication, equalize educational opportunities, and provide a more effective reporting and accountability system to the state legislature.
ESDs link local public and private schools with one another and with state and national resources. ESD Cooperatives and programs enhance educational opportunities because they realize significant savings, allowing districts to send more dollars directly to the classroom and provide special services that might otherwise be unavailable to their regions.
As you can see, ESDs play a crucial role in addressing the challenges in our public schools. Geographically closer to local schools and their district offices, the ESDs serve as regional liaisons between the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), State Board of Education, and the Legislature.
AESD: Have You Heard of Educational Service Districts?
The ESD Return on Investment
As ESDs reach their fifth decade of service, the scope and nature of linking and service responsibilities reflect the change facing our public schools today. In a time of increased public accountability, of both student performance and management of public resources, ESDs in Washington are “the” model of efficiency and leverage. The nine ESDs leveraged $5.1 million of state allocated core funding into $251 million of needed services for students and schools in Washington. Stated another way, for every $1 in core funding, ESDs returned $49 in educational programs and services – $230 for every student in the state.
As our state’s citizens demand higher standards and ever increasing demands on educational programs, the ESDs of Washington state will continue to provide critical services such as teacher and staff training, networking and technology integration, and direct services for students with special needs and early childhood education. We will continue to create new opportunities, leverage more resources, and facilitate broad support for the benefit of all students and their families in Washington State.
Washington State’s ESD History
Partners & Resources
OSPI/AESD Partnership
OSPI and ESD superintendents represented within the Association of Educational Service Districts (AESD) have agreed to commit to establishing and maintaining the OSPI/AESD partnership. They are working together to realize an open and coordinated system focused on shared statewide initiatives that collaborates on goals, accountability measures, and deliverables, and that engages in continual improvement efforts to strengthen the efficacy of the partnership on behalf of Washington’s students.
To learn more, download the current draft of the Coordinated Services Agreement between the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Association of Educational Service Districts.
Videos
50th Anniversary: A History of AESD
ClimeTime: Teaching Climate Science in the Classroom
Eastern Washington Computer Science Consortium