New Orleans Residents Facing Education Crisis Due to Hurricane Season

Hurricane season is kicking in with a nightmare storm in New Orleans.  A city that has barely recovered from Hurricane Katrina is being affected by Hurricane Gustav.  One group that is greatly overlooked   is the K12 students who will be missing school.  The schools in New Orleans are still recovering from Katrina.   and making attempts to implement changes that improve student performance.  Any slowdown in each K12 student’s education is a dagger in the heart of what’s been described as very unstable communities. 

The New Orleans Gustav Hurricane is easily reminding residents of how slowly school was restored after Hurricane Katrina.  In fact some neighborhood schools could not be reopened after Katrina.  The parents and teachers in the city need to join hands in developing an education plan for these crisis situations.  Increasing opportunities to read and do home work may be one great way to keep students intellectually active.  Nearly 2 million people have fled the Louisiana coast including residents from New Orleans.  There are thousands of disappointed students who need to keep their minds stimulated.  Too many of their schools are faced with changing principals and teachers.  Some of the teachers who are frustrated with the unstable weather like Gustav may be leaving the area permanently.  If New Orleans is like many school systems where the teachers are retiring class sizes may increase until new teachers are hired.  The New Orleans School District needs to diligently work toward developing attractive incentives that motivate teachers to stay.

The students who live in New Orleans deserve the best education possible.  Public schools always need more financial support than what they are receiving.  It takes substantial dollars to run an inner city school.  Many of these schools face underfunding and a storm like Gustav has catastrophic impact on their budget.  Teachers already take money out of their own pockets to purchase classroom supplies to keep their classes moving in the right direction.

Hurricane Gustav and other storms should not stop the education process.  Parents do play a major role in keeping their children’s mind active.  The local school and parents must come up with a strategy that includes homework assignments like writing about their experiences for the time that they are moving out of New Orleans.  Students need to know that there are learning opportunities all around them.   The affects of hurricanes are felt through a student’s attitude toward the learning process that their parent creates.  It is very difficult times for students who want to learn and to pursue a dream to attend college.  A big consideration is how all of these students can get caught up after they return to school to complete assignments. 

If we fail to educate students we fail to prepare for our future.  Students need to learn how to think independently.  They don’t realize that information is retained better when it is fun.  Each season hurricanes will come but New Orleans will be prepared with lessons and assignments that students can complete.  These students are in need a stable learning experience and maintaining a focus on education helps.