Ombuds Outlook Blog
Ombuds Outlook Perspectives in Practice
Turning Insight into Action - One Conversation at a Time
We’re excited to launch the 2024–2025 Ombuds Office Training Series—an evolving learning initiative shaped by real experiences and feedback from scholars, staff, families, and community members across GRPS.
This series aims to develop the essential skills that are valued by our community:
- Effective Communication,
- Psychological Safety,
- Constructive Conflict Resolution,
- And Trust.
These four focus areas emerged from recurring themes raised through the Ombuds Office and reflect the kinds of support constituents have said would make a meaningful difference in their day-to-day experiences.
In response, we’re offering practical tools and reflective learning designed to help our community engage with challenges more confidently—whether they’re just emerging or already impacting relationships and environments. The goal is to support more connected, responsive, and restorative practices across the district.
The series is open to everyone invested in the GRPS community, not just staff, through blog posts, podcast episodes, and flexible learning sessions. As we move through this phase of learning, we’re centering collaboration—exploring how we strengthen teamwork, build effective partnerships, and communicate more intentionally across all levels of the system.
Aligned with Strategic Theme 6: Creating a Culture of Trust, Collaboration, and Stewardship, this effort is about more than learning and growth—it’s about shaping the culture we want to work and learn in.
Explore this phase’s four focus areas and join us in moving GRPS forward—together.
Beyond Words: How Effective Communication Lays the Foundation for a Strong Culture Every relationship is shaped by culture, and that culture provides the foundation for either stability or instability. Likewise, organizations thrive, or crumble, based on the strength of their culture.
Meet Our Ombuds
Meet Maleika Joubert Brown, Ed.S, a dedicated and passionate educator with a remarkable 28-year career within the Grand Rapids Public Schools. Her journey in education has been a multifaceted one, marked by various roles including Teacher, Instructional Coach, Mathematics Curriculum Supervisor, Director of Professional Learning, and Director of Equity and Inclusion.In her present capacity as the Ombudsperson for GRPS, Maleika acts as a crucial guide and proactive alert system, dedicating herself to improving the experiences of those connected with the Grand Rapids Public Schools. In addition to being a member in good standing of the International Ombuds Association, she serves the Grand Rapids community in several other capacities.
Maleika’s educational journey includes earning a Bachelor of Science in Education from Louisiana State University, a Master of Arts in Education from Marygrove College, and an Educational Specialist degree from Grand Valley State University.
