New Staff to Help You Navigate Frederick County Public Schools

EDUCATION \\

NEW STAFF TO HELP YOU

NAVIGATE Frederick County Public Schools

BY TERRY ALBAN, SUPERINTENDENT, FREDERICK COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) is a large and diverse school system, with 43,000 students, 6,000 employees and 67 schools. Imagine the many policies, regulations and procedures that shape how the school system serves students, families and staff, and you have an idea how the process of navigating through issues and concerns can pose a potential challenge. It’s sometimes difficult even to know where to start.

To help students, families, staff and community members better address concerns, the FCPS Board of Education has created the new Office of the Ombuds. Frederick joins Baltimore City and Howard County and Montgomery County school systems in providing an ombuds office. Ombuds’ roles are to provide information about FCPS programs and services, foster collaboration focused on the best possible options for resolution, and identify areas for systemic improvements. In these roles, the ombuds works to empower a thriving partnership for solutions, helping navigate the process to resolve a challenging situation. The ombuds also supports the board and the wider community by reporting suggested ways to improve student achievement and enhance FCPS’s organizational efficiency.

Here are four words that help explain the ombuds’ roles:

Independent—The ombuds reports directly to the board and is outside of other FCPS lines of authority.

Impartial—The ombuds is neutral and impartial, not taking sides or advocating any particular position but rather collaborating with people who need help to find options for getting the best possible outcome for all involved.

Confidential—The ombuds provides a safe place for discussing concerns and keeps communication confidential, only sharing identities of those who contact the ombuds when permission is granted.

Informal—The ombuds helps develop options and serves as a sounding board to guide collaboration.

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The ombuds doesn’t replace other FCPS channels for resolving problems but supplements those channels as another resource to create collaborative relationships. Consulting the ombuds does not put the system “on notice” of a problem but fosters discussion of processes and options for resolving issues consistent with policies, regulations, and negotiated agreements.

Use of the ombuds service is free, voluntary and not a required step in any procedure. It’s a step to take when you want to discuss strategies, possible options and/or resources to resolve a challenging situation. It’s a way to get direction when you don’t know where to go for help or have trouble finding the information or process you need. The ombuds is a resource for an impartial perspective. The ombuds can help you foster communication when you feel that communication with FCPS may have broken down.

There are some areas in which the ombuds cannot help. The ombuds does not conduct investigations of potential wrongdoing, impose discipline or overturn student disciplinary decisions, make, set or change policies or regulations, participate in litigation or intervene when parties are involved in legal or administrative proceedings.

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For more about FCPS:

• Visit www.fcps.org

• Sign up for FindOutFirst school email news and emergency text messages

• Like FCPS MD on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube

• Read the FCPS Calendar Handbook

• Watch FCPS-TV on Comcast cable channel 18 and online at www. fcps.org/tv

• Contact FCPS Office of Public Affairs, 191 S. East St., Frederick, 301-696-6900

To learn more, visit www.fcps.org/ombuds. To contact the Office of the Ombuds, call 301-696-6852 or email ombuds@fcps.org.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF FREDERICK COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

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