The Ombuds Blog: Superintendent of New Orleans Schools to Hire Ombuds

August 15, 2007

Superintendent of New Orleans Schools to Hire Ombuds

Paul G. Vallas, the new superintendent of the Recovery School District of New Orleans, says he is "going to create an ombudsman’s office to assist teachers and resolve problems." There is good reason to take this seriously: Vallas oversaw the creation of ombuds programs while he was CEO of the school districts in Chicago and Philadelphia. (Education Week, free subscription required.)

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Organizational Ombuds

Organizational Ombuds serve as a confidential, independent, neutral and informal dispute resolution resource for a specific entity. They are accessible to a defined population and can advocate for fairness. These unique characteristics distinguish Organizational Ombuds from Classical Ombuds, mediators, arbitrators, and other alternative dispute resolution professionals. The term "Ombuds" is shorthand for "Ombudsman," "Ombudsperson" and "Ombuds Officer," which also are used widely.

Some other variants include:

Austria -- Ombudsstelle

Brazil -- Ouvidor

Croatia -- pravobranitelji

France -- médiateur/defénseur

Germany -- Ombudspersonen

Italy -- difensore

Netherlands -- ombudspersoon

Norway -- ombudet

Poland -- Rzecznik

Portugal -- provedor

Russia -- омбудсмен

Spain -- ombudsman organizacional

Sweden -- studentombud

Switzerland -- ombudsmann

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