Entry #5 Hurricane Katrina Displaced Students

Hurrican Katrina has impacted many schools across the south. This devastating event left 372,000 students without a school. Families were forced to move. Some people had families in other places that took them in until they could get back on their feet. Others had no one. There was one student that entered my school in LaVergne Tn because of Hurrican Katrina; however, other schools in Rutherford County saw more hurricane victims. Our school did a very good job making this student feel at home, making sure they had all the supplies they needed, food, and clothing. This student was also offered counseling. Rutherford County schools donated clothing and food for victims. This taught students a valuable lesson in compassion and character education.

School districts in Texas and other states saw thousands and thousands of displaced students. How do you accomodate such a large number of students in such a short amount of time? These students were also in need of basic needs and counseling. Having the available funds, supplies, and staff must have been a huge undertaking. The schools needed to help these students restore their life and give them a sense of normalcy along with teach them the state standards. I'm sure these students were also in culture shock. Life in New Orleans is very different than life in Texas, Tennessee, or Florida just to name a few. These students needed to feel welcome and other students needed a quick lesson in diversity and respecting others differences I'm sure. One way to help those students is to bring their culture into the schools. I am only hoping that students as well as teachers welcomed them with warm hearts.

I really enjoyed reading the article, "Educating Children of Katrina". I love the idea of offering schools $7500 per student for those displaced by the hurricane. This money would go to the schools and not the district along with other money to educate this child from the state. I also love the idea that this would have schools bidding for these students to enter their buildings. This would turn a very negative event into a positive thing for these families. They could choose which school they felt was best for their child. Schools would be excited about receiving these new students and create a positive environment for them.

I am posting a site where schools that have taken in students from the hurricane can post supplies or other needs. Companies and organizations can get in touch with those schools to help get them the resources they need. The second link is a report on Katrina students scoring better than some of the Texan students in reading.

http://www2.ed.gov/katrina

http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2010/04/hurricane_katrina-displaced_st.html