Got a problem with your child's school and can't seem to work it out with the teacher or principal? Having trouble navigating the various rules and regulations around public education?
Check in with Adie Simmons. She heads up the Office of the Education Ombudsman, the nation's first state-level ombudsman focused on K-12 public education. Its motto: “We listen. We inform. We help solve problems.”
Established by the Legislature in 2006 and housed in the governor's office, the ombudsman works outside the public education system. The office's services are free and confidential, available to K-12 public school students, families and educators to help resolve problems that affect student learning. As impartial third parties, the trained staff provides consultation, coaching, facilitation and mediation services.
This year, the ombudsman's office plans to take its show on the road and offer parent clinics on topics such as conflict resolution and advocating for students: Look for a Seattle-area clinic in the spring.
In 2008, the office worked with 2,234 students, families and educators and intervened in 317 cases of conflict between schools and families.
Each year the ombudsman advises lawmakers in Olympia on ways to improve education, based on persistent statewide concerns that surface in the ombudsman's consultations. Cases related to bullying and harassment are among the most frequent requests for the ombudsman's help. This year, Simmons' office called on lawmakers to require school districts to adopt procedures to prevent and respond to bullying or harassment. She also called for more teacher training in bullying prevention and intervention.
Other 2009 recommendations addressed the need for state-level policy on school-family partnerships and a host of improvements in special education, from funding resources to better enable schools to work with parents who speak a language other than English, to better serving students with social, emotional or behavioral disabilities.
Before being appointed ombudsman by Gov. Christine Gregoire, Simmons directed the office of family and community partnerships in Seattle Public Schools, helping schools integrate family involvement practices into academic goals. An award-winning educator, trainer and mother of two, Simmons has also worked as a Spanish and an English-as-a second language teacher.
Check out the ombudsman's Web site (www.governor.wa.gov/oeo/default.asp) for tips on how to best utilize the office's services. You'll also find free publications on topics such as making the most of your parent-teacher conference and understanding parent and student rights in the public schools.
To talk with an ombudsman, call 1-866-297-2597 or 206-729-3232 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Lynn Schnaiberg is a Seattle freelance writer, mother of two and former education reporter for Education Week. She has also written for Outside, Business 2.0, Hemispheres and iExplore.com.
