The "statewide system of support," a feature of Congress's 1994 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, provided an organizational framework for a "managerial" approach to school improvement that was accelerated in No Child Left Behind (2001). When Congress temporarily flooded states with economic recovery money in 2010, the surge of resources fed a reform zeal and "entrepreneurial" attitude that systems of support helped contain. When the flow of money subsided, patience with federal imposition withered, and frustration with languid academic outcomes mounted, ESEA was reauthorized. This time it was called the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, and the system of support was no longer named. The structure of a system of support, however, proved useful for states that were now more independently "strategic" in how they guided and assisted their districts and schools. As programs, projects, and initiatives within state departments of education rise and fall with shifts in legislative emphasis and educator favor, a systems approach to school improvement provides coherence, economy, and strategic discipline. This report traces the history of systems of support and looks for overarching themes in how states addressed the improvement of their schools. [The Systems Development and Improvement Center at the University of Cincinnati sponsored this work.]