HGSE Students Repair and Rebuild New Orleans Schools

In an effort to help rebuild New Orleans schools devastated by Hurricane Katrina, about 20 students from the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Teacher Education Program traveled to the city during the February 18-26 school break to provide expertise and help in a number of areas.

"HGSE students were really blown away by how quickly the New Orleans students took to us and built relationships with a group of strangers who they knew would only be there for one week," said Orin Gutlerner, associate director of the Ed School's Undergraduate Teacher Education Program. "We felt very privileged that they let us into their lives and were so receptive to sharing stories and allowed us to step in and try to help salvage what we can of their school year."

The students volunteered at the Samuel J. Green Charter Middle School and the Math and Science Charter High School, which both reopened in January. In addition, the students worked at New Orleans Charter Middle School which was almost entirely destroyed by the flooding.

In the two schools that had reopened, the Ed School students provided administrative and academic support in a number of areas, including:

• in-classroom support through reading groups, one-on-one tutoring, and substitute teaching;
• organization and distribution of school uniforms, and help to renew the libraries; and
• organization of afterschool electives such as Latin dancing, basketball tournaments, soccer games, and chess clubs.

At the New Orleans Charter Middle School, the students faced the difficult task of digging through the debris and determining what was salvageable. Ultimately, the group sorted, packaged, and catalogued enough text books, science equipment, furniture, white boards, and student records to fill two 15 foot trucks. The same group that spent their mornings on this work would then return to the other schools to help with afternoon electives.

In addition, the entire group met from 3-5 each day to sort through the massive number of donated books at the Math and Science High School to determine how and where they could be integrated into the curriculum.

Though the group provided significant assistance to the schools, it also aided in their own learning process. The opportunity to participate in such a direct manner gave the students a chance to make vital connections with educational leaders and students in one of the nation's most challenged urban school districts. "We all felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment," Gutlerner said pointing out that he watched the hurricane's devastation unfold on television and immediately hoped to do something. "Part of the trip was a way of dealing with the feelings we've had for a long time now. It was great to be part of something like this and accomplish what we did in a relatively short period of time. It was a drop in the bucket with what needs to be done educationally and politically in the city."

The New Orleans effort was organized by two HGSE students, who previously lived and taught in the district. HGSE students stayed with New Orleans families and paid for their own food while the director of Teacher Education, Senior Lecturer Katherine Merseth, was instrumental in obtaining financial support for their airfare.

About the New Orleans Public School System:

• Before Katrina, there were 125 public schools in the city, 8 of which were charter schools, serving a total of approximately 82,000 students.
• Currently 20 schools are open since the storm, with 5 more slated to open before the school year ends. The current student enrollment in these 20 schools is 13,000 kids.
• There will likely be a significant increase in the number of charter schools that open in New Orleans in the next school year, as 117 of the 125 schools were labeled as "low performing" by the state and thus could be taken over and converted to charters.
• The schools that are currently open will continue to face numerous challenges in the future. Several schools are reporting that they are having trouble meeting the demands of a rapidly increasing enrollment, as families are returning to the city faster than expected. The enrollment of Green Charter, for example, nearly doubled in the first month that it reopened.

About the HGSE Teacher Education Program:
The Teacher Education Program is an intensive one-year master's program that prepares individuals who aspire to teach in urban schools.