We believe all students have value, can learn and can develop their inherent talents to become contributing members of society.

Our mission is to provide personalized, evidence-based educational services for nontraditional learners in collaboration with families and public school districts.

According to the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET), a child drops out of high school every nine seconds. Ombudsman's alternative school programs help communities combat the staggering social and economic costs of high dropout rates. Since 1975, Ombudsman Educational Services has provided more than 145,000 at-risk students and students who have previously dropped out with an alternate route to graduation – and to all the opportunities a real high school diploma provides.

Ombudsman students are at risk of not graduating because they may have missed too many school days, lack credits, or have academic challenges or adult responsibilities that keep them from being successful in a traditional classroom environment.

Students benefit from a rigorous mastery-based learning program aligned to state standards and the Common Core. The Ombudsman program helps students progress through academic and pro social skills by offering differentiated instruction of standards-based curriculum in a technology-rich environment to improve success toward course completion, test performance and persistence to graduation. Ombudsman's comprehensive programs provide the academic, emotional and behavioral support students need to be successful in the classroom and in life after graduation.

Ombudsman partners with more than 120 public school districts in 20 states to operate more than 130 schools and programs. Many public school districts partner with Ombudsman to provide alternative programs for dropout prevention and credit recovery. Regardless of the reason they attend Ombudsman, 84 percent of Ombudsman students graduate, earn necessary credits or return to their district school closer to or at grade level.

When Ombudsman students are coached in the value and rewards of accountability for their academic performance, many experience success and report self-confidence for the first time, even if they have been unsuccessful in past academic endeavors. This renewed sense of confidence contributes to improved dropout and graduation rates for Ombudsman’s district partners and the states in which they operate.

To learn more about how Ombudsman works with public school districts, please visit our School Districts and Educators page. For information about Ombudsman programs in your state, please click on your state on the Locations page.

Ombudsman Educational Services is a division of Educational Services of America (ESA), the nation’s leading provider of Pre-K-12 alternative and special education schools and programs. Based in Nashville, Tenn., ESA partners with more than 260 public school districts in 23 states to operate more than 160 schools and programs. ESA provides highly personalized academic and behavioral services to 12,000 students each year though its Ombudsman, Early Autism Project and Spectrum Center divisions.