Virtually every school can benefit from support and assistance from people outside the building: to help identify best practices in education; to provide targeted strategies for specific students in need of extra help; and to help prioritize among competing demands on resources and time.

To ensure that the support from outside the school is consistent with and advances the priorities and focus inside the buildings, school leaders need the ability to choose the kind of support that best meets their needs. For the 2007–08 school year, all school leaders have chosen a package of support from a School Support Organization.

Regardless of the type of School Support Organization a school chooses, schools will remain public schools subject to the authority of the Department, the Chancellor, and the community and high school superintendents, as well as all Chancellor’s regulations. Every principal signed a Statement of Performance Terms and operates under the same policies regarding student placement, suspension, collective bargaining agreements, financial reporting, and other areas as outlined by the Department and State law.

The Department of Education has asked schools to make a two-year commitment to School Support Organizations. After two years, principals will be free to select another School Support Organization. (After the first year, if principals are not satisfied, they will have the opportunity to petition for permission to opt out and select a new support organization.) This initial two-year commitment will enable a stable transition, and in subsequent years, principals will be able to choose to switch School Support Organizations annually. For a quick overview of the SSOs click here.

School leaders chose from among three types of School Support Organizations:

The Empowerment Support Organization (ESO) includes networks of self-affiliated schools supported by an integrated team of instructional and business staff selected by the schools. Conceived in 2004 as the autonomy zone pilot program, the initiative has expanded. Network teams support 496 schools this school year.

Learning Support Organizations (LSOs) are led and operated by four accomplished educational leaders. These veteran educators have drawn on their records of success to develop theme-based comprehensive service packages.