Empire State Partnerships (ESP) is dedicated to identifying, supporting and developing promising practices in collaborations between cultural organizations and schools. The focus of the project is on the achievement of the New York State Learning Standards and contributing to the improvement of teaching and learning in New York Schools.

Launched in 1996 to raise standards for students as well as to integrate and reinstate the arts into classrooms throughout New York State, ESP is a program of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). The Metropolitan Opera Guild acts as fiscal sponsor for the ESP Professional Development Program, which coordinates the annual Summer Seminar--held for arts educators and administrators in July, regional networks for arts organizations and their partner schools, and the ESP website. For further details, please go to the ESP Website.