When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005, Oxford Elementary School teacher Barbara Johnston’s fourth-grade class donated over $300 to help stranded pets in the devastated city of New Orleans.
Two years later, the Oxford resident realized the city is still in dire need of volunteers to not only help re-build the destroyed homes, but the schools. That’s why she will travel to the Big Easy July 29 for a week of cleaning schools in an effort to get them ready for this fall.
Johnston will be taking the trip through a volunteer group called Katrina Corps, which was formed in Dec. of 2006 for the purpose of speeding up the recovery process in New Orleans after the storm.
According to a press release from Louisiana’s Department of Education, 6,000 new students are expected this fall on top of the city’s current total of 27,000 students.
Out of the 128 public schools in New Orleans, only 22 are currently operational and have class sizes reaching an alarming 70 students per class.
The goal for Katrina Corps is to get 25 more schools cleaned and ready to go in September to help narrow down class sizes. ‘It was really alarming to me that there were that many children that don’t have a school,? Johnston said.
But the city doesn’t just need places to house their students ? they’re in desperate need of teachers, too.
Many teachers relocated after the storm and have yet to return. ?(The city) wants to bring the people back and they really can’t without the infrastructure,? she said. ‘Education’s the hope for the future.?
Cleaning the public schools will be no small undertaking. The volunteers will be painting, possibly helping with murals, moving desks and other supplies into classrooms, as well as school ground clean up and landscaping.
And if there’s time, they may even get to gut houses that were damaged by the storm.
‘I look at it as my working vacation,? Johnston joked. ‘I’m fortunate that I have the time off that I can go. I like the idea of combining an adventure with community support and doing something for my country.?
While volunteering in New Orleans, Johnston said she will be taking some of her own teaching advice by keeping a daily journal of her experiences and share them with her class this fall.
She hopes her volunteer efforts won’t be done in vain.
‘I keep saying ‘If not me, then who?? and ‘If not now, then when?? and that (quote) haunts me,? she said. ‘If I can do something to give the students a school where they could go every day and have a somewhat normal life again, that would be a good contribution.?
For more information on volunteering with Katrina Corps, visit www.katrinacorps.org.