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Dear Colleagues, Partners, and Friends,
After nearly five years, I am leaving the Office of the Ombudsman
for Public Education. I have learned so much from my incredible colleagues at
the State Board, charter schools and DCPS schools, advocacy partners, education
organizations, and students and families.
With my colleagues, we were able to re-establish an office that
supported thousands of families, the majority of which represent the most
disenfranchised in our city, particularly in Wards 5, 7, and 8. Through the
office, we have demonstrated that establishing trust and ensuring
confidentiality between schools and families can result in positive outcomes
for students.
In the Office of the Ombudsman, we addressed issues that were
brought to our attention by providing direct intervention; we also addressed
these same issues on the systemic level through our engagement with local,
state, and national education leaders. Our office became a venue for parents,
students, and families to have a real voice in addressing systemic inequities
that are causing our children, particularly children of color, to fail. We implemented a dispute resolution system
with the vision that educational equity extends beyond formal equality and
promotes a barrier free system in which students have the opportunity to
benefit fully from their public school systems.
Our office’s work has
been recognized nationally, and our recommendations have been implemented
locally. Over the years, as the Education Ombudsman, I have observed positive
changes in this city, and though a number of challenges remain, these changes
indicate that disruption of inequitable systems is not only possible, it’s
starting to happen every day.
I look forward to my new
role as the DC Regional Director of Rocketship Public Schools as it gives me an
opportunity to continue the important work of advancing educational equity by
taking lessons learned through thousands of interactions with schools and
families to promoting the growth of quality schools in Washington, DC.
Thank you for the
opportunity to serve you as the second Education Ombudsman in DC.
Warmly,
Joyanna
Outgoing
Ombudsman for Public Education
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