Regional Education Agencies: The Critical Link Between the State and the Classroom

As far back as the 1880s, a regional structure and strategy were used in business, human services, and education. Our forepeople recognized the importance of regional entities in adopting and adapting a common approach in local contexts. They saw how regional entities provided a bridge between governing organizations and local communities. In the early 1800s, a regional education service agency was established in Delaware and Oregon to support local school districts (Stephens, 1973). Today, we build on that wisdom and use examples from practice to demonstrate how regional entities serve as the critical link in testing the innovation of governing agencies to determine what works, for whom, and under what conditions, at the local level within their unique context.

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