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Saturday, April 7, 2012

Opinion | The long-lasting benefits of an educational ombudsman | Seattle Times Newspaper

Opinion | The long-lasting benefits of an educational ombudsman | Seattle Times Newspaper:


The long-lasting benefits of an educational ombudsman

The Seattle School District did the right thing in creating the position of an ombudsman who can listen, facilitate and negotiate solutions — so that educators and families become partners in education, writes guest columnist Adie Simmons.
Special to The Times
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NO matter what the education issue is today, the contentious nature of our modern discourse has devolved into having winners and losers. Either you are for (insert educational issue) or you are against it. At some point we must all ask ourselves, "Do we have enough resources and money to keep feeding an education system that continues to foster polarizing dialogue, whereby opposing viewpoints/parties must have a 'winner' and 'loser'?"
The creation of a Seattle Public Schools ombudsman, I believe, is a step in the right direction. Years before the Seattle district invested in an ombudsman position, the state of Washington made an