Clients
The Region II Equity Assistance Center provides services to a variety of clients that include the State Education Departments from New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands; school districts throughout each of the states; and other educational organizations that provide technical assistance or services to school districts.
Services to each of the State Education Departments depend on the priorities set by the state, the way the State Department is organized, and the specific request made by the state. For example, in New York the EAC has met with the Office of Bilingual Education and Foreign Language Studies; the Office of K-16 Initiatives and Access Programs; the Office of Elementary, Middle, Secondary, and Continuing Education; and the Office of Special Education. In New Jersey, the EAC is developing a collaborative relationship with the Deputy Commissioner on teacher quality and disproportionality issues. In the Virgin Islands, the EAC is currently working with the Commissioner of Education regarding the issue of improving student achievement for all students. In Puerto Rico, the EAC is currently coordinating with several state entities on issues related to student access to equal education.
School districts constitute the major group of clients for the Region II EAC, with the preponderance of those districts located in New York and New Jersey. These school districts vary significantly in size, ranging from New York City with its 1.2 million students to smaller districts with student populations as low as 1,500. The biggest change in school districts over the past few years is that many suburban districts have taken on the same characteristics as those located in the large urban areas. Therefore, these districts are now experiencing some of the same kinds of issues and problems as urban districts throughout the states. Request for services from school districts focus largely on four main areas: English Language Learners, teacher quality, dropout prevention, and disproportionality in special education.
Below is a Table reflecting school district information for each of the 4 geographic areas included within the EAC Region II service population.
School District Characteristics of Region II (2005-2006)
Regional Characteristic |
New Jersey |
New York |
Puerto Rico |
Virgin Islands |
School Districts (N) |
615 |
730 |
1 |
1 |
Public K-12 Schools (N) |
2,474 |
4,672 |
1,523 |
35 |
Charter Schools (N) |
54 |
79 |
120 |
-- |
Per-pupil spending per year |
$14,245 |
$13,567 |
$4,899 |
$7,777 |
FTE teachers (N) |
112,673 |
218, 989 |
42,036 |
1,434 |
Average pupil/teacher ratio |
12.4/1 |
12.9 /1 |
13.4/1 |
11.7/1 |
Total students: K-12 (N) |
1,395,602 |
2,815,581 |
563,490 |
16,750 |
Students: % White |
56.5% |
52.7% |
-- |
1.1% |
Students: % Black |
17.6% |
19.8% |
-- |
83.3% |
Students: % Hispanic |
18.2% |
20.1% |
100% |
15.3% |
Students: % Asian/Pacific Islander |
7.5% |
6.9% |
-- |
.2% |
Students: % American Indian/ Alaska Native |
.2% |
.5% |
-- |
.2% |
Students: %, Title I schools |
51.6% |
63.5% |
98.8% |
100% |
Students: % with IEPs |
26.7% |
13.2% |
14.6% |
7.2% |
Students: % enrolled in ELL programs |
3.6% |
6.9% |
-- |
3.4% |
Students: % eligible for free/reduced lunch |
26.8% |
44.4% |
-- |
-- |
(Source: U.S. Department of Education, 2008) |
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