March 25th, 2010 in Community, Education, Partners, People, Politics, Youth |
Photo courtesy of Sarah Weir, CDA Staff
The Office of the Education Ombudsman (OEO) is now offering Ombudsman Clinics at community sites for families of students in public schools who have questions about the education system, or are experiencing concerns about their children’s education. Our first clinic was held at the Greenbridge YWCA in partnership with the King County Housing Authority.
After introducing OEO at a community meeting of Somali, Cambodian and Vietnamese residents, a group of Somali families requested an Ombudsman Clinic to express their concerns about their children’s education.
During the two-hour clinic, one topic was identified as an area of concern for the families, and two parents offered to serve as spokespeople for the group in sharing their concerns with the school district.
The ombudsman later contacted the school district to share the nature of the families concerns and to schedule a meeting for the Somali parents, the school district and the ombudsman to discuss solutions.
The Ombudsman facilitated a successful follow-up meeting with school district personnel and two of the families. They were able to express their concerns, and the district immediately responded by offering several solutions. A follow-up meeting with all the families is planned so that the families who attended the small meeting can share what progress has been made.
OEO will continue to meet with a variety of community groups and plans to offer Clinics for several of them over the next few months. For more information about the Ombudsman Clinics, click here. If you are interested in scheduling a community group to meet with an Ombudsman for a Clinic, please contact Cathy Liu Scott at cathyliu.scott@gov.wa.gov.
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