Replanting the Seeds of Success

School districts are pushing themselves to make
tomorrow better for the victims of Hurricane Katrina

Stephane Babcock | Associate Editor

In the two years since Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc along the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, efforts to rebuild have been aided by a combination of community strength and strong leadership. School districts in these affected areas have pulled together to rejuvenate their buildings, programs and morale.

New Orleans Recovery School District
“It’s good to see the recent changes and the continued progress in rebuilding the city,” said Tony Vidrine, Laidlaw area general manager of southeast operations. “Despite some of the reports throughout the media, many people here are improving their lives every day and working together as a community to rebuild the historic culture of New Orleans.”

Before the storm hit, the New Orleans Recovery School District (RSD) ran district-owned buses. After their fleet was destroyed, Laidlaw was hired to take over the transportation duties.

“From a transportation provider’s perspective and as a member of the community, the success in recovering from a disaster such as Hurricane Katrina is contingent upon the leaders of the community working together to solve significant issues,“ said Vidrine. “As hind sight is always 20-20, developing an emergency operation plan is the best antidote to dealing with wide-spread destructive disasters.”

Changes in the district’s leadership will hopefully recharge the efforts. Former Philadelphia Public Schools superintendent Paul Vallas made a parallel jump to New Orleans RSD, and people are hoping he will help transform the area to its former status.

“They are looking at Vallas to lead the pack and give people guidance,” said RSD Transportation Director Thaise Ashford.

The arrival of Vallas comes at a time of growth for the district. At the end of the 2006-2007 school year, there were 56 public schools open in New Orleans serving almost 27,000 students, according to Siona LaFrance, communications director for the RSD. The district estimates that another 6,000 to 7,000 students will enroll, bringing the total public school population to about 33,000.

“That compares to about 62,000 students in the more than 120 public schools in New Orleans pre-Katrina,” said LaFrance. “We expect to open an additional 20 to 22 RSD schools — traditional and charter — for the 2007-2008 school year to meet the needs of this growing student population.”

Head Start Recovers
Head Start centers around the city were also greatly affected by the storm. Only 11 of the original 34 programs are currently in service. The challenges of rebuilding go beyond the buildings and can be seen in the faces of people of the city.

“In the beginning we were dealing with the trauma,” said Pearlie H. Elloie, director and acting executive director of the New Orleans Office for Children, Youth and Families. “We had hope that things would improve at a faster rate. There’s a lot going on that people are still facing.”

There were different levels of damage to the centers. While some had to be demolished and rebuilt, others received minimal damage. Some of the landlords who own the buildings that house the Head Start programs have decided not to rebuild. Currently, there are plans to build three new centers.

But with over half the centers gone or in the process of reconstruction, Elloie works to help not only those enrolled in the programs, but her staff as well.

“It becomes the responsibility of those of us to assist not only our clients, but our workers as well. They can not care for children and families if they can not care for themselves,” said Elloie.

Efforts in Mississippi
For Ronnie Storey, director of support services for the Pass Christian, Miss., Public School District, the disaster not only changed the area’s landscape, but his position as well. His pre-Katrina role as principal of the district’s middle school changed when someone had to step in to deal with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“I was elected into the position,” said Storey. “Everyone wears multiple hats in this district; no one has just one job.”

The combination of losing 25 percent of its bus fleet and 50 percent of its population leveled out the problems Pass Christian experienced in providing transportation to the remaining students.

“Ninety percent of the homes and 80 percent of the businesses were lost in the storm,” said Storey. “Everyone has been working out of trailers.”

The district is now at about 75 percent of its previous population, and its has already rebuilt the high school. The elementary school and middle schools have been combined into one, and the district hopes to break ground this fall.

“We pulled off a miracle — the elementary students were able to return in six weeks, and the middle and high school students returned in about seven weeks,” said Storey.

Even the wide-spread destruction hasn’t stop the students from striving for academic excellence.

“The year following the storm, we were a level-5 school, based on test scores. We’re pretty proud of everything we’ve gotten done,” he added.

The students, teachers and administrators of Hancock County School District in Kiln, Miss., are also currently reclaiming their district. Since losing 26 buses two years ago, the transportation department has made a combined purchase of 23 new buses, for a total of 72.

“Enrollment is rising,” said Larry Husband, the district’s transportation director. “Currently the overall enrollment is over 4,000 students, and we transport approximately 3,000 children. We’re still having to double up on five of the routes currently.”

Two of the elementary schools, Gulfview and Charles B. Murphy, were affected by wave action and were condemned. The schools have been combined and renamed as South Hancock Elementary, which will be rebuilt on the Gulfview site and recently received the go-ahead from FEMA.