Ombudsman: An Alternate Route

BY SHARLONDA L. WATERHOUSE Post-Tribune staff writer

Roberto, 18, needed a high school that would accommodate his 3 to 11 p.m. shift at Gary’s U.S. Steel mill.
Francisco, 16, wanted to make up some sophomore math courses he failed and speed through his junior year.
Both East Chicago teens, students at East Chicago Central, are meeting their goals through enrollment in the new Ombudsman Educational Services alternative center.
This year, following a national trend, the East Chicago school district partnered with outside contractor Ombudsman to handle alternative services for a range of students, such as those who don’t like traditional classrooms or are at-risk of dropping out or becoming bored with too slow a pace.
“We were looking for an opportunity for our students if they get into a little trouble, have to work, or if they cannot get an education through traditional means,” said East Chicago director of federal programs Dawn Green.
“We still want them to be successful. Ombudsman’s success rate has been good – and they are a free-standing school. That’s the beauty of it,” Green said.
“They have their standards, which they are aligning with state standards.”
‘No failure’ approach
Green said the district had tried its own in-house alternative program, but that didn’t work out and ended years ago.
Now, they have a hands-off but agreeable relationship with Ombudsman, where they agree on courses assigned to students and when a student will return to school with earned credits.
The move is saving money – it only costs $4,500 per student with Ombudsman versus $9,000 per student in traditional district costs.
Ombudsman, established more than 30 years ago, touts a “no failure” approach. The South Bend school district is considering its program, and it hopes to partner with other districts in Lake and Porter counties.
Ombudsman boasts an 85 percent rate for success with a complicated population.
Malika Rias, director of the East Chicago site, which set up shop in East Chicago’s Field Elementary School on Block Avenue a few weeks ago, said it’s willing to work with any school district in Northwest Indiana, even if students want to enroll privately and have their family pay the fees.
Students outside of East Chicago would need to arrange their own transportation.
Seven students have been accepted so far. The site has space for 45 and will enroll throughout the school year in grades 6 through 12.
Focus on core academics
The classroom at Ombudsman is quiet. There is no social interaction, only academic exchange between teacher and student, one-on-one.
Roberto, a welder, said joining Ombudsman has made his life easier. He works to help support himself and his grandmother and would be exhausted with regular school.
“The worst problem is sleep. You have to get sleep at least seven or eight hours. I get home around 12:30 a.m., shower, go to sleep, and then wake up and go to class,” he said.
“Without this, I would have to quit my job, even though it’s very important and brings money to the household. I love this. You don’t have to rush.”
While Francisco confesses to missing friends “a little bit,” he likes that Ombudsman has “less distractions and it’s smaller.”
Scott Russell, operations manager for Ombudsman, said the philosophy is to use “incentive learning” that focuses only on core academics.
There are computer stations where each student can use digital resources for subjects ranging from biology to calculus to physical education.
Instead of running laps, a gym student would study health tips and how to keep the body well. Instead of handling an actual frog for dissection, a student would use interactive virtual biology dissection programs—even getting to choose scalpels to make the experience real.
A practical approach
Nearly 80 percent of classwork is on the computer, mostly through software known as Plato.
School is three hours daily: from 7 to 10 a.m. or 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. There are no breaks, no lunch, no assemblies, no changing classes, no recess, no play.
Students must work from start time to finish, churning out as much work as a traditional student would in a regular classroom.
Ombudsman teacher Pat Wojcik said realistically when you subtract all the wasted time in mainstream classrooms, “most students only get three to four hours of instruction anyway.”
The Ombudsman approach is utilitarian and practical.
“Many students just get lost in mainstream classrooms,” Wojcik said.
Francisco, who had been expelled from Central and was making low grades, got a call one day from Rias after the school district sent her a referral.
“I thought it was better to be in school somewhere,” he said this week as he did diagnostic work so Ombudsman could calibrate his skill level and format his curriculum.
Students can stay at Ombudsman for a semester, a year or longer, depending of the plan forged with the school.
Francisco plans to return to E.C. Central to finish his senior year and graduate with his class. Under the agreement, Roberto, a senior, will be considered a graduate of E.C. Central.
A different route for some
Elsewhere in the region, school leaders, many of whom run their own alternative programs ,whether informally or formally, have not decided whether they, too, will turn to outsourcing in the future.
Sharon Johnson-Shirley, superintendent for Lake Ridge Schools in unincorporated Lake County, said her alternative program, which was pared down due to financial reasons, has become a staple not only for her district but also for Lake Central, Whiting and Highland, which sends them students.
Still, Johnson-Shirley said a few years ago her district also considered an outside provider for alternative services, but the firm did not move an office into the area as planned.
“We were investigating it to save money and see if they could do a better job than what we’re doing. Every year we investigate ways to improve,” Johnson-Shirley said.
E. Ric Frataccia, assistant superintendent at Portage Township Schools, said his district seeks to provide a “differentiated education,” one for every student and said they arrange it on a case-by-case basis.
Dawn Green, at East Chicago, said she wholeheartedly believes in the traditional public school for most students but said schools also must “look for innovative solutions.”
And that sometimes means bringing in private contractors for unique educational options.
“We have to think of new ways to handle these students. Some would be walking away from school altogether to be in the streets as dropouts. This is a different route. We’re looking at educating the whole child and addressing very unique needs,” Green said.

Contact Sharlonda L. Waterhouse at 648-3085 or swaterhouse@post-trib.com