For over a century, school districts in Wisconsin were overseen by county superintendents.  In 1963, the Wisconsin Legislature and various school groups concluded that the county system should be replaced with regional service agencies.  That year, 19 cooperative educational service agencies, or CESAs, were created. They began operating in 1965 and were reorganized into 12 agencies in 1984.

Each CESA serves the unique needs of schools and children in a particular region of Wisconsin.  CESAs make it possible for schools, regardless of size, to work together to share staff and equipment, save money, and extend educational opportunities to all corners of the state and to all children.  CESAs provide these services without mandates, without levying taxes, and with virtually no direct state appropriations.

CESA #11, located in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, encompasses all or major portions of Barron, Burnett, Dunn, St. Croix, Pepin, Pierce, Polk and Washburn counties as well as portions of Buffalo, Chippewa, Eau Claire, Rusk and Sawyer  Counties. Cooperative Educational Service Agencies (CESAs) were created by statute to perform a variety of functions that are educational in nature with a focus on staff and student learning.  CESA #11 offers a wide array of educational services to over 50,000 students and approximately 4,000 teachers in the thirty-nine school districts within its boundaries. The agency also offers several regional and statewide services.  

Our goal at CESA #11 is to provide these services by working together with our partners in a cooperative, cost-effective manner in order to maximize our collective investment. We provide services to children, teachers, administrators, school boards and schools in the form of both direct and indirect educational services. Direct services include providing onsite teachers, paraeducators, therapists, etc.  Indirect services include leadership, consultation, staff development, resource materials, grant administration, and other assistance to better serve the students in our schools. Our high-quality staff development opportunities keep high-quality professionals on the cutting edge, resulting in higher performing students.  Visit us for professional development and networking opportunities regarding Educator Effectiveness, Common Core, Assessments, and everything associated with making our students college and career ready.  

On behalf of all of us at CESA #11, I invite you to become familiar with our website and the types of programs and services we offer.  We exist to Serve, Educate and Lead.