Katrina left 372,000 students in search of a school to continue their education while displaced. The students and their parents not only lost their schools but they lost their homes, jobs and all of their belongings. The wrath of Katrina converted working families to homeless evacuees in a matter of few hours in time. How do you begin to repair the damage of Katrina?
The neighboring states provided shelter, food and clothing. Some states provided medical insurance, job search assistance, welfare and food stamps to assist these families in minimal recovery. Education is the next step in an attempt to establish normalcy to the lives of evacuees.
The article, Educating the Children of Katrina (Goodman, 2005) offers alternatives to providing education to these students. The Value-added ranking of schools provides information to parents about the schools in areas around their new homes. The rankings considered income levels, percentage of minorities served and performance information for existing student populations. The information was designed to assist parents in selecting a school for their children to attend. I am of the opinion that the information was limited at best. The information did not contain the cultural barriers that will be facing the students as they prepare to enter the schools selected by their parents.
Understand, I believe the information to be valuable but lacking cultural aspects not experienced in the schools of neighboring states. Currently, several perishes in Louisiana are under a federal court order to desegregate. These parishes lie in the path of Katrina and were the hardest hit. The choice of attending school was not given to the students prior to this time. The change to the new school could be as traumatic as Katrina itself. In order to effectively address the needs of the students, one must look at the services required for the students based on the community from which they came.
Louisiana is a state highly defined by culture, especially in the southern part of the state. I had the honor of working with a group of teachers and administrators from several parishes. There were 35 schools participating in all. I was ask to be a presenter as an expert in Small Learning Communities or Career Academies at the High School Reform Retreat. I have been teaching for 11 years and in two states but I could not believe what I was hearing from the educators at this conference. They repeated responded with: We can’t do that hear; you can’t do that in low income schools; that won’t work with our black students. The teachers would not consider utilizing a full-time business teacher for two schools in need of a half-time business teacher at each. The schools were not more than five miles apart. I thought I had stepped back in time. The teachers continued to say what they couldn’t do and could not agree on something that they could do. Not once did the teachers consider what was best for the students. I did not here one teacher refer to the students in a manner that put them first. If this is the education the Katrina students were accustomed to, them a drastic culture shock was just ahead for the first day of school at many of the schools they would choose.
Mississippi is a state with continuing racial issues. I visited a friend for a few weeks and could not wait to return from the past. The town was about forty miles south of Jackson and permanently stranded in the early 1960s. Woman in the family gathered at one home during the day while the men worked. They would return home in time to cook and clean. Daughters lived with their parents until they married. Everything was closed on Sunday. On the surface, it seemed like a nice place until you took a closer look at the racial component. The African-American population could only live on one side of town and no “self-respecting” white person went to that side. The white students attended academies and the African-American students attended public schools but both were funded with public funds. Could you imagine relocating from this community to Dallas or Memphis?
The Katrina students required additional resources to assist in the transition dependent on the community from which they evacuated and the community which offered them shelter. School psychologists needed to be prepared to provide individual and group meetings for the Katrina students to accept and adjust to both the devastation and the transition.
In addition to the psychological issues, students faced academic deficiencies which could be addressed by schools that had proven to be effective in proficiency attainment. Schools were required to make specific adjustments for students lacking course requirements for graduation by the relocating state standards. Katrina seniors were now in jeopardy of not meeting the new graduation requirements. The individual states would have to address these issues as they presented themselves.
The Katrina evacuees faced many obstacles when attempting to establish new homes in neighboring states. Finding a school was only one part of the equation.
The neighboring states provided shelter, food and clothing. Some states provided medical insurance, job search assistance, welfare and food stamps to assist these families in minimal recovery. Education is the next step in an attempt to establish normalcy to the lives of evacuees.
The article, Educating the Children of Katrina (Goodman, 2005) offers alternatives to providing education to these students. The Value-added ranking of schools provides information to parents about the schools in areas around their new homes. The rankings considered income levels, percentage of minorities served and performance information for existing student populations. The information was designed to assist parents in selecting a school for their children to attend. I am of the opinion that the information was limited at best. The information did not contain the cultural barriers that will be facing the students as they prepare to enter the schools selected by their parents.
Understand, I believe the information to be valuable but lacking cultural aspects not experienced in the schools of neighboring states. Currently, several perishes in Louisiana are under a federal court order to desegregate. These parishes lie in the path of Katrina and were the hardest hit. The choice of attending school was not given to the students prior to this time. The change to the new school could be as traumatic as Katrina itself. In order to effectively address the needs of the students, one must look at the services required for the students based on the community from which they came.
Louisiana is a state highly defined by culture, especially in the southern part of the state. I had the honor of working with a group of teachers and administrators from several parishes. There were 35 schools participating in all. I was ask to be a presenter as an expert in Small Learning Communities or Career Academies at the High School Reform Retreat. I have been teaching for 11 years and in two states but I could not believe what I was hearing from the educators at this conference. They repeated responded with: We can’t do that hear; you can’t do that in low income schools; that won’t work with our black students. The teachers would not consider utilizing a full-time business teacher for two schools in need of a half-time business teacher at each. The schools were not more than five miles apart. I thought I had stepped back in time. The teachers continued to say what they couldn’t do and could not agree on something that they could do. Not once did the teachers consider what was best for the students. I did not here one teacher refer to the students in a manner that put them first. If this is the education the Katrina students were accustomed to, them a drastic culture shock was just ahead for the first day of school at many of the schools they would choose.
Mississippi is a state with continuing racial issues. I visited a friend for a few weeks and could not wait to return from the past. The town was about forty miles south of Jackson and permanently stranded in the early 1960s. Woman in the family gathered at one home during the day while the men worked. They would return home in time to cook and clean. Daughters lived with their parents until they married. Everything was closed on Sunday. On the surface, it seemed like a nice place until you took a closer look at the racial component. The African-American population could only live on one side of town and no “self-respecting” white person went to that side. The white students attended academies and the African-American students attended public schools but both were funded with public funds. Could you imagine relocating from this community to Dallas or Memphis?
The Katrina students required additional resources to assist in the transition dependent on the community from which they evacuated and the community which offered them shelter. School psychologists needed to be prepared to provide individual and group meetings for the Katrina students to accept and adjust to both the devastation and the transition.
In addition to the psychological issues, students faced academic deficiencies which could be addressed by schools that had proven to be effective in proficiency attainment. Schools were required to make specific adjustments for students lacking course requirements for graduation by the relocating state standards. Katrina seniors were now in jeopardy of not meeting the new graduation requirements. The individual states would have to address these issues as they presented themselves.
The Katrina evacuees faced many obstacles when attempting to establish new homes in neighboring states. Finding a school was only one part of the equation.
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