What is Puget Sound ESD?
Puget Sound Educational Service District (ESD) #121 is one of
nine regional educational agencies serving school districts and state-approved private schools in Washington state. ESDs function primarily as support agencies and deliver educational services that can be more efficiently or economically performed regionally.
Puget Sound ESD develops and delivers a wide selection of services that provide instructional and administrative support to PreK-12 schools and direct service to students and families.
Our Legislated Responsibilities are to:
- provide cooperative and informational services to local school districts,
- provide services to school districts to assure equal educational opportunities, and
- assist the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education in the performance of their duties.
Our Ends:
Puget Sound ESD sets outcomes or "Ends" annually. These Ends guide our work on behalf of the educational communities we serve. Our over-arching End is to create conditions favorable to educational communities to achieve success for all students.
As a result of our efforts, school districts will be better able to:
- Improve Student Learning
- Increase Leadership Capacity
- Improve Safety, Civility & Support in Learning Environments
- Increase Economic Efficiencies & Resources
- Increase Family & Community Engagement
We continually evaluate our progress in meeting our Ends and report on this progress annually. Please see our 2006-07 Ends Report.
2009 PSESD Ends Report (PDF)
PSESD strives to create a culture in which each employee contributes to sustaining values that positively impact our environment. Learn more about the
Principles that Guide Our Culture .
Services
Our
programs and services continuously evolve in response to the needs of educational communities in our region.
We develop and deliver a wide selection of services that provide instructional and administrative support to schools and direct service to students and families. Depending on the program, our services may be provided at no charge to the user, contracted as needed, or may require annual membership.
Departments and types of services offered include:
- Administrative Services: cost-saving insurance cooperatives; teacher certification; school emergency communications; grants services; education television channel.
- Early Childhood and Family Support Services: infant and preschool programs; comprehensive education, health, nutrition, and social services for 3,600+ preschool children and their families; education, involvement, and job readiness opportunities for parents; training and support for the child care community.
- Financial Services: group financing and/or purchasing cooperatives; technical assistance and consultation on school financial issues; pools and cooperatives for administrative support; pupil transportation coordination; and state reporting functions.
- Learning and Teaching Services: research; evaluation and assessment; school improvement; prevention services; school, family and community partnerships; professional development; teaching support; and clock hours.
- Special Services: programs for students with special needs; assistance with the design and effective evaluation of programs; services for children with vision impairment, hearing loss, and deaf-blindness, ages birth through 21.
- Technology Services: assistance to schools and school districts in planning for educational technology; network services; software purchasing programs; web and software development; videoconferencing; and library and media services.
Service Area
Our service area includes
35 school districts and more than 200 private schools in King and Pierce counties plus Bainbridge Island. Approximately 38 percent of the state's K-12 public school students, more than 383,000, are served in the area's school districts, which range from large to small, urban to rural.
Location
Our office and training/meeting facilities are
located in the Renton business area in south King County. Our staff are based here or work out of schools and other educational centers in the region. We also operate a satellite office in Fife.
Governance and Staff
Puget Sound ESD is governed by a nine-member educational service district board, elected by local school directors. Each
board member represents several school districts within the ESD region.
Agency operations are overseen by
Monte L. Bridges, Ed.D., superintendent; and Janice Watson, deputy superintendent.
Our staff of 345 administrators, educators and support personnel coordinate more than 70 programs organized into five departments.
Benefits to Schools
- Save schools money through cost-effective cooperatives, centralized services, and pooled resources.
- Provide specialized services otherwise unavailable.
- Secure new resources for the region.
- Provide leadership for innovative educational and administrative practices.
- Build networks and cooperative arrangements among districts and other agencies.
- Link schools with state and national educational resources.
- Serve as liaison between schools and the OSPI and other agencies.
Funding
Less than 1% of our funding comes from a state allocation. Our programs are funded primarily by entrepreneurial means. We apply for and receive competitive state, federal and private grants, and also operate cooperatives among schools and other agencies, supported through membership fees. In addition, we develop services for our region on a pay-for-service basis.
-
State Allocations <1%
- Cooperatives 16%
- Services and Fees 6%
- Grants 77%
Non-Discriminiation Policy
Puget Sound ESD does not discriminate in admission to, access to, or operation of its programs, services, or activities. Contact Janice Watson, Affirmative Action/ADA Office, at 425-917-7600.
