Capitol Region Education Council

Connecting People and Resources for Quality Education

Since 1966, the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC), working with and for its member districts, has developed a wide array of cost-effective and high-quality programs and services to meet the educational needs of children and adults in the Capitol Region.

Every student can and shall learn at high levels and, therefore, must have access to all educational resources within the region through the system of public schools served by CREC.

To work with boards of education of the Capitol Region to improve the quality of public education for all learners. In order to achieve its mission, CREC will:

• Promote cooperation and collaboration with local school districts and other organizations committed to the improved quality of public education
• Provide cost-effective services to member districts and other clients
• Listen and respond to client needs for the improved quality of public education
• Provide leadership in the region through the quality of its services and its ability to identify and share quality services of its member districts and other organizations committed to public education

• Trust: Built on personal integrity, and forthright and ethical communication
• Leadership: Born of wisdom, experience, tenacity and courage
• Diversity: Striving to promote social justice through our programs and our actions
• Quality: Through a culture of continuous improvement
• Collaboration: By partnering with our 35 member districts, area agencies, and by maintaining collegiality within our divisions, programs and staff

• Ongoing professional development workshops for educators
• High-quality educational programs for grades PreK-12 through eighteen interdistrict magnet schools
• School construction, operations and facilities services
• Customized educational programming in the public school districts it serves
• Cooperative purchasing and other business services
• Specialized educational programs and facilities for students with hearing impairments, special needs and a variety of other physical and behavioral challenges
• Preschool and care programs for infants and their families
• Innovative partnership programs that help adults develop real, job-ready skills now

• Regularly serves 35 member districts (36 towns) in Greater Hartford
• Reaches additional towns/districts through a number of statewide services and programs
• Assists more than 150,000 students each year
• Offers more than 120 programs
• Manages more than 20 facilities in nearly a dozen towns, including eighteen interdistrict magnet schools

CREC began as a grassroots organization of local school districts working together to solve common problems. It is one of six Regional Educational Service Centers (RESCs) established under Connecticut General Statute 10-66 a-n, which permits local boards of education to establish a RESC as a "public educational authority" for the purpose of "cooperative action to furnish programs and services."

Such intermediate units – that are smaller than state departments of education, yet larger than local school districts – are used to deliver services in about 40 states.