FAQ
To view an
audiovisual presentation about ESC-2, please click here
(21114.72KB Windows Media File).
What is the Education Service
Center?
What is the mission of the Education
Service Center?
What is the history of the
ESC-2?
What services are available to
schools?
Are services available
to the public?
Where can I find information
regarding ESC-2 professional development and workshops?
Does the ESC-2 offer an
alternative certification program for teachers?
Does the ESC-2 offer an
alternative certification program for principals?
How does the ESC's
cooperative purchasing program work?
The ESC-2 is ISO
9001:2000 certified. What does that mean?
What are the ESC-2's hours of
operation?
How are ESC's funded?
How are ESC's governed?
Are ESC's regulatory
agencies?
Is the ESC-2 a part of Corpus
Christi Independent School Districts?
What is the Education Service
Center?
The Education Service Center is a non-profit service
organization created to provide services to schools. There are twenty
service centers in Texas, each serving schools in a specific region.
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What is the mission of the
Education Service Center?
The Region 2 Education Service Center's mission is to
be a catalyst for change resulting in student improvement and efficiency
and economy of operation. We promote educational excellence for all
students throughout our region and state. Every district within the
region is provided both instructional and non-instructional assistance.
State and local initiatives are promoted and implemented within the
region. The primary focus of our organization is student achievement,
and we impact student achievement by offering relevant professional
development for teachers, administrators, school board members, parents,
and other clientele.
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What is the history of the
ESC-2?
In 1967 the Texas Legislature and the State Board of
Education established twenty Education Service Centers throughout the
state. Initially the service centers were established to provide media
services and limited instruction-related training for teachers. The
ESC-2 has evolved over time and has embraced many new responsibilities,
in the areas of professional development, certification, cooperative
purchasing, telecommunications, computer services, and other technology
related areas to meet the increasing needs of Texas Coastal Bend
schools.
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What services are available to
schools?
The ESC-2 offers over eighty-five specific programs to
assist school districts in improving student performance, operating more
efficiently and economically, and providing professional development for
teachers and administrators. While the primary focus of the Region 2
Education Service Center is student achievement by offering relevant
professional development for teachers, administrators, school board
members, parents, and other clientele, ESC-2 Centers also assist schools
in other key functions, such as:
Are services available to the
public?
While the ESC-2's priority is to service the school
districts, professional development workshops and training are also open
to the public for a fee based on availability. Organizations can also
enter into a cooperative program where contracted days can be purchased
at a discounted rate for consultant services, staff development, and
technical assistance. Meeting facilities are also available for rental
to outside companies and organizations for a fee.
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Where can I find information
regarding ESC-2 professional development and workshops?
You can visit the ESC-2 Web site at
http://www.esc2.net/training/
for information about a specific workshop or to download the workshop
book; or you can call us at (361) 561-8400.
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Does the ESC-2 offer an
alternative certification program for teachers?
The Educator Preparation and Certification Program (EPCP)
provides for the certification of individuals who meet program admission
requirements, which would include training and a paid internship in a
public school, to earn a Texas Standard, (all level) Generic Special
Education Certificate or a Secondary ( in specific content areas)
Certificate. For more information contact:
Barbara Proctor
at (361) 561-8525 or visit ESC-2's Web site at
http://www.edprep.esc2.net/
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Does the ESC-2 offer an
alternative certification program for principals?
The PEL program
provides for the certification of individuals who meet admission
requirements. PEL participants complete a combination of training
sessions and project-based activities over a two-year period. Upon
completion of all program requirements, participants will be eligible
for a Texas Standard Principal Certificate.
For entry requirements, information and/or an application
packet contact:
David Spencer
at (361) 561-8567.
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How does the ESC's
cooperative purchasing program work?
The ESC is part of a Multi-Regional Purchasing
Cooperative, an administrative agency created in accordance with Section
791.001 of the Texas Government Code. The purpose of the Cooperative is
to obtain the benefits and efficiencies that can accrue to Cooperative
members in a concerted effort to comply with state bidding requirements
and identification of qualified vendors of commodities, goods, and
services.
Simply put, schools or districts participating in the
cooperative supply the ESC with a list of items needed for the year. The
ESC in turn handles the bid process and secures discounted volume
pricing. For additional information regarding the purchasing
cooperative, please visit us at http://purchase.esc2.net/ or contact
Gerald Goodwin at (800) 891-6403 or (361) 561-8452.
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The ESC-2 is ISO 9001:2000 certified. What does that
mean?
ESC-2’s Quality Management System is based on ISO 9001:2000.
ISO refers to a large group of
international standards developed by the International Organization for
Standardization beginning in 1946. This organization is composed of the
national standards institutes of about 156 countries and is the world’s
largest developer of technical standards. The term ISO is not an
acronym, but is from the Greek isos, meaning “equal.” Most of the
ISO families of standards are highly specific to a particular
product, material, or process.
The ISO 9000 family of standards was
developed to assist organizations in implementing and operating an
effective quality management system. Through its worldwide
acceptance and use, the ISO 9000 family of standards provides an
effective means for improving the performance of individual
organizations and provides confidence to customers that products and
services will meet their expectations and needs.
Specifically, ISO 9001 is among the most
widely known families of standards, and it forms a coherent set of
quality management system standards. A “quality management system” (QMS)
refers to what the ESC-2 does to manage its processes (activities) to
ensure that its programs and services consistently satisfy customers’
requirements and it complies with regulations.
The ISO 9001:2000 QMS is conceptually based
on several quality management principles: customer focus, leadership,
involvement of people, process approach, systems approach to management,
continual improvement, and data-driven decision-making. ISO 9001:2000
requires the ESC-2 to analyze customer requirements, define
processes, control those processes, and continually improve the QMS.
Certification to ISO 9001:2000 is the
culmination of a rigorous external auditing process, conducted by an
independent certifying organization (in this case, ABS Quality
Evaluations, Inc.). Preparation for certification included actual
technical development of the ESC-2’s QMS, extensive documentation, and
internal auditing. The ESC-2 must recertify every three years and will
receive surveillance monitoring every six months from the certifying
entity.
The ESC-2 has pursued this prestigious
certification for one main reason: to improve our ability to meet Region
2 public school districts’ requirements, thus contributing to student
success, and efficiency and economy of school operations. The ESC-2 is
committed to continual improvement in the quality of its programs and
services through its ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System.
What are the ESC-2's hours of
operation?
Monday - Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
*Closed on weekends and holidays.
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How are ESCs funded?
Education Service Centers do not possess tax levying or
bonding authority. Service centers receive monies from federal, state,
and local sources. State funds provide approximately 11%; federal funds
provide 39%; contracts with school districts comprise 50%. Monies are
also generated through grants and service contracts.
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How are ESCs governed?
A seven-member lay board governs Service centers. To stand
for election to the ESC board of directors, the candidate must be an
U.S. citizen at least 18 years of age and reside in the region. School
board trustees of each school district in the ESC region elect board
members.
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Are ESCs regulatory agencies?
ESCs are not regulatory agencies. The purpose of the ESC
is to assists districts in improving student performance. School
participation in ESC services is voluntary.
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Is the ESC-2 a part of Corpus
Christi Independent School Districts?
Many times people are confused about the ESC-2's
relationship with CCISD. Although the ESC-2 is located in Corpus Christi
and provides services to CCISD, they are two separate entities. CCISD is
simply one of the larger of the 42 school districts that ESC-2 serves.
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