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September 6, 2005

'Being a teacher, you wonder what happened to your students'

Lots of stories of school districts everywhere taking in new students in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Here's just a sampling of numbers from a few districts:

Houston Public Schools: had enrolled 577 new students by last Thursday, with thousands more expected.


Shreveport, La.: 1,000 children had arrived by last Friday.

Lafayette, La.: 2,500 students new students had registered and the district had hired 100 new teachers.

Memphis, Tenn.: 350 new students had enrolled, with the number expected to climb to 1,000 this week.

And behind the numbers are the stories. The Atlanta Journal Consitution on an extended family from south Louisiana that will send 32 children to Georgia schools this week. "I'm excited because I'm going to meet new faces," said Jaiona Wise, 12.

Teachers also are facing new starts. From the Associated Press: Kim-Anh Nguyen, a first-grade teacher in Jefferson Parish, La., had just finished the first week of school when the hurricane hit. She's applying for a job in Baton Rouge.

"I spent a lot of time preparing for the school year, and now I have to start all over again and find a job," she said. "Being a teacher, you wonder what happened to your students."

Fortunately, school districts are cutting through bureaucratic red tape to help families immediately. In Houston, normal procedures are being waived, reports the Houston Chronicle. Birth certificates, immunization records or school records are not needed for any evacuees staying within the district. "We're making every provision right now to get their children the education they need," said district spokesman Terry Abbott.

Posted September 6, 2005 8:39 AM

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