Ombudsman: An Alternate Route

For Immediate Release

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April, 2008) -Educational Services of America (ESA) today announced it is expanding its program to help students graduate from high school to nine more school districts in Georgia, bringing the number of Georgia school districts it serves to 17.

ESA’s Ombudsman Educational Services offers personalized, computer-assisted learning for middle and high school students who would benefit from an alternative learning environment. School districts turn to Ombudsman to help educate their at-risk students and improve graduation rates.

“Students drop out of school for a variety of reasons,” Mark Claypool, president and CEO of ESA, said. “Some students have to work to support their families. Some feel they are too far behind academically to catch up and others sometimes feel like they just don’t fit in at their school.

“Ombudsman Educational Services provides students an alternate route to earn a high school diploma in a learning environment that’s right for them,” Claypool said. “For many students, the right environment includes personalized instruction in a small classroom setting with flexible schedules that accommodate their family and work responsibilities.”

Camden County Schools Superintendent William C. Hardin, Ed.D., agreed many students need a different education option.

“For some students, a traditional school setting is not effective,” Hardin said. “We are confident the Ombudsman program can provide those students with an alternative environment to help address learning differences and provide an opportunity for them to succeed.”

The following nine school districts will offer the Ombudsman program when this school year begins:

• Appling, Camden, Pierce, Tattnall and Ware counties in southeast Georgia;
• Walker County Schools in northwest Georgia; and
• Cartersville, Cobb County and Marietta City schools in metropolitan Atlanta.

Ombudsman operates existing programs in eight other Georgia school districts:

• Bulloch, Coffee, Effingham, Jeff Davis, Liberty and Toombs counties and Vidalia City in southeast Georgia; and
• Douglas County in metropolitan Atlanta
  The nationally accredited Ombudsman program has an 85 percent success rate among its student body, meaning students graduate from Ombudsman or their home school district, improve their academic standing or earn necessary academic credits.

Ombudsman is a division of Educational Services of America (ESA), the nation’s leading provider of alternative and special education.

About Ombudsman Educational Services
Ombudsman Educational Services partners with school districts to provide an off-campus, alternative education program that offers highly personalized, computer-assisted learning for middle and high school students facing a variety of issues including truancy, credit or academic skill deficiencies, social and family challenges or learning/behavioral disorders. These issues frequently prevent them from succeeding in a traditional school setting. Ombudsman Educational Services is a service division of Educational Services of America, the nation’s leading provider of special and alternative educational programs.

Ombudsman Educational Services has partnerships with more than 120 school districts across the country to operate programs this fall. Ombudsman Educational Services learning centers are typically located within the school district they serve, but away from the campuses to minimize social distractions and allow students to focus on their studies. For more information, visit www.ombudsman.com or www.esa-education.com.

About Educational Services of America
Educational Services of America is the nation’s leading provider of K-12 and post-secondary alternative and special education programs for students who are at risk of dropping out of school and for students with behavioral/learning disabilities.

ESA’s leadership and staff are experts in educating children with special needs. ESA is headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., and operates more than 120 schools and programs in numerous states. It is listed among the Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America.

ESA is accredited by the Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation (CITA), an international alliance of premier accrediting organizations including the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the National Council for Private School Accreditation and the Council on Occupational Education.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jan Morrison
Lovell Communications Inc.
(615) 297-7766
jan@lovell.com