Educational Service Center of Franklin County

The Educational Service Center of Franklin County was created as the Franklin County Board of Education in 1914 when Ohio's 80th General Assembly recommended the establishment of county boards of education for each of Ohio's 88 counties. At that time, the main purpose of the county office was to serve as a liaison between the local districts in that county and the state department of education. In 1914, Franklin County had many local districts and just one city district, Columbus.

Beginning around 1950, Franklin County’s suburban communities began to experience substantial growth, which led many local districts to become city districts. Today, there are 16 school districts in Franklin County, with just four being local districts: Canal Winchester, Groveport Madison, Hamilton and New Albany Plain. As the number of local districts began to decline, the state passed legislation allowing county offices to expand their services to city districts. A 1995 state law changed the county boards of education to county educational service centers.

The work of the ESC of Franklin County

The Educational Service Center of Franklin County works with many school districts around central Ohio in a variety of capacities.

The central pillar of the agency’s work is partnering with districts throughout central Ohio to educate students with special needs, such as developmental disabilities, autism or hearing impairments. The ESCFC offers many other services to school districts, including curriculum development, professional development and business services. The agency cultivates school leadership and management through a series of workshops in its Leadership Academy to aid current and future school administrators.

The ESC of Franklin County does not have any taxing authority; its funding comes primarily from three sources: the Ohio Department of Education, partner school districts, and state, federal and private grants.

The work of the Educational Service Center of Franklin County is focused in the following centers:
* [http://www.fcesc.org/achieve.htm Center for Achievement]
* [http://www.fcesc.org/student.htm Center for Student Services]
* [http://www.fcesc.org/leadership.htm Center for Leadership]
* [http://www.fcesc.org/business.htm Center for Business Services]
* [http://www.fcesc.org/support.htm Center for Support Services]

External links

* [http://www.fcesc.org ESC of Franklin County home page]

Partner School Districts

* [http://www.bexley.k12.oh.us/ Bexley City Schools]
* [http://www.canalwin.k12.oh.us/ Canal Winchester Local Schools]
* [http://www.columbus.k12.oh.us/ Columbus Public Schools]
* [http://the.dublinschools.net/ Dublin City Schools]
* [http://www.eastland.k12.oh.us/ Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools]
* [http://www.gahannaschools.org/ Gahanna-Jefferson City Schools]
* [http://www.grandviewschools.org/ Grandview Heights City Schools]
* [http://www.gocruisers.org/ Groveport-Madison Local Schools]
* [http://www.hamilton-local.k12.oh.us/ Hamilton Local Schools]
* [http://www.hilliard.k12.oh.us/ Hilliard City Schools]
* [http://www.new-albany.k12.oh.us/ New Albany/Plain Local Schools]
* [http://reynoldsburg.schoolnet.com/ Reynoldsburg City Schools]
* [http://www.swcs.k12.oh.us/ South-Western City Schools]
* [http://www.uaschools.org/ Upper Arlington City Schools]
* [http://www.westerville.k12.oh.us/ Westerville City Schools]
* [http://www.whitehall.k12.oh.us/ Whitehall City Schools]
* [http://www.worthington.k12.oh.us/ Worthington City Schools]