Janice Galloway has been an educator for a little over four decades, and she is about as excited to go to work as she has ever been.
Galloway is one of the instructors for the Sunflower County Consolidated School District’s ombudsman program, a newer district project that is helping students who are behind anywhere from one to three grade levels catch up and graduate.
“We have one young man who just finished the eighth grade and is in his ninth grade courses, and he’s doing really well in his ninth grade courses,” Galloway said.
The idea to bring the ombudsman program to the county was introduced by Khalilah Ransom, who now oversees the program, which has anywhere from 15 to 20 students at any given time.
“Most times, when we get the students, they are referred to us,” Ransom told The Enterprise-Tocsin.
The program is housed on the Carver Elementary School campus in Indianola, but children from all over the county can join the program.
Ransom said some of the students had prior discipline problems that might have landed them in trouble in their regular classroom settings, but many of them were just victims of circumstance.
Some were behind due to grades, and some might have missed too many days of school due to an illness.
“There are some who don’t really mesh well in the regular setting,” said SCCSD Superintendent Dr. Miskia Davis. “They may have a discipline problem or something like that, and they need to be in a smaller setting.”
Those discipline issues often go away when they reach Ransom, Galloway, Alberta Johnson (instructor) and Martha Bruce.
“For the most part, we don’t have any discipline problems,” Ransom said.
The curriculum is computer-based, and students can work at their own pace and finish courses as quickly or as slowly as they like.
Most of them, when they get used to the program, like to accelerate the process.
“They have to adjust,” said Galloway. “There’s a lot of rigor in the routine that we set for them…You’re working from the time you get here, with the exception of breakfast and lunch. In between, you’re working. That’s why it’s easy for them to move from one grade level to another, because they come to work.”
The students are given Chromebooks and textbooks to help with their coursework. And then there’s the human factor. They have veteran teachers available at all times to help and to give instruction if they need it.
Ransom said the program, which is accredited by the state of Mississippi, has been a 21-unit program, but next year, the state will add three additional units of requirement in order to graduate.
Once students complete
their courses, the syllabi are sent to the ombudsman for review. Many are sent back, and the students have to either correct their work or redo it.
Ransom said the standards are very high.
Prior to graduation, seniors have to complete resumes, college applications, receive letters of recommendation and more.
Davis said that the program is being paid for with the district’s federal dollars, and it costs between $250,000 and $300,000 to operate annually.
“It’s a very expensive program, but it’s so worth it,” she said.
So far, there have been eight graduates from the program in three years, and that number is projected to jump to at least 11 by this summer.
For the younger students, who may be on track to catch up to their grade levels, they will have the opportunity at some point to go back to the regular classroom.
“This program is accredited by the State of Mississippi, so the same opportunities they would get in a regular high school program they would get it from the ombudsman program,” Galloway said. “That’s why we give them the option to stay over here or go (back) over there.”
Jakerius Williams was behind one full grade level. He was in the eighth grade when he entered the ombudsman program, but he needed to be in the ninth grade.
“It’s done a whole lot,” he said. “I’m moving quickly.”
He is currently caught up, and he said he’s not going anywhere. He is staying in the ombudsman program.
“I’m going to stay in the program through the end,” he said.
Nigeria Thompson said that she fell behind early on in elementary school, particularly when she had to take the third-grade reading test multiple times. She said a clerical error, after she eventually passed the test, kept her back.
“When I got into the eleventh grade, my counselor told me about this program,” Thompson said. “She thought it would be a good idea if I would come. I came, and now, I’m graduating. I’m in my right grade.”
Thompson plans to graduate soon and eventually attend Mississippi Delta Community College.
Jessica Gresham’s birthday had her starting school almost a year late.
She was also held back and had to repeat the second grade.
“I was pretty much two years behind from graduating, so I said let me come to the ombudsman program,” she said.
Now, Gresham said that she is on track to graduate a year early, hopefully by May or early summer.
She plans to attend Alcorn State University and will major in business and eventually wants to attend law school.
J’Kevious Campbell credits Ransom and Galloway for introducing him to the ombudsman program.
He was one year behind when he arrived.
“I came in the summertime looking for an opportunity to get put in my right grade,” he said.
Today, he is caught up, but like many of his classmates, he does not plan to return to the regular classroom.
“I’m gonna stay,” he said. “I enjoy it… You’ve got teachers to give one-on-one time to help and to break it down. It really isn’t hard or any pressure.”
Campbell plans to graduate and attend college, hopefully on a football scholarship.
Ransom said that multiple graduates from the ombudsman program are currently attending college, and one has joined the U.S. Army.
Three more are set to graduate this spring and summer, and the district hopes that more students, who may need a different setting or a chance to catch up, will join the ombudsman program.
This could keep more students in the classroom, on a path to college, a job or the military and off the streets and out of gangs.
