Ombudsman Educational Services has established partnerships with more than 140 school districts nationwide to help at-risk students graduate from high school and help school districts improve graduation rates.

How Ombudsman Helps
Ombudsman offers an 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. The Ombudsman program helps reduce classroom disruptions, counseling costs, teacher frustration, suspensions and expulsions.

Educators can refer middle and high school students who are struggling in a traditional classroom setting to Ombudsman’s non-traditional learning environment, where students benefit from small class size, increased interactions with instructors and the opportunity to work at their own pace. Ombudsman 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.

Meeting Standards
School districts turn to Ombudsman to help educate their at-risk students and improve graduation rates. Ombudsman teachers are certified and meet the federal Highly Qualified Teacher requirements as defined by No Child Left Behind. Our program is aligned with state standards, ensuring that students learn and master the necessary skills and content knowledge they need to graduate.

Track Record
Ombudsman has educated more than 140,000 students since 1975. Ombudsman’s individualized programs help students graduate, earn credits or return to their district school closer to or at grade level. Ombudsman’s nationally accredited program has an 85 percent success rate and standardized test results over three school years illustrate that, on average, Ombudsman students achieve more than one academic year’s growth in less than one year’s time. This means students can and do graduate.

Students who attend Ombudsman alternative programs remain enrolled in their home school districts. This allows school districts to benefit from improved graduation and attendance rates as well as retain funding streams. School districts can also utilize federal stimulus dollars from the ARRA, School Improvement Grants and Race to the Top awards to fund Ombudsman programs that help improve outcomes for at-risk students, support important academic achievement goals, reduce dropouts and improve graduation rates.

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.