New Orleans
Working to Rebuild Hope after Natural Disaster
The Education Partnership also addresses education challenges facing children here in the U.S. Three years after Hurricane Katrina, the children of New Orleans are still recovering. The struggling school system was devastated by the storm. Most school buildings were destroyed or damaged. Students, faculty and administrators were scattered across the country. Only now is the system getting on its feet. Months of living as virtual refugees split up neighborhoods and networks, ending any chance of a normal school life.
Effects of Katrina: Children still cope daily with the trauma of having being driven from their homes, many of which were destroyed by the storm. Many still suffer from high levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and anger.Public school students in New Orleans are generally poor, with limited access to health care. Both students and teachers need extra help getting back on track. The large majority of children rank two or more years below grade level and 60% of teachers have less than 2 years of experience.
Read about what our partners are doing:
Children's Defense Fund – New Orleans, Louisiana
Children's Defense Fund Early Education Support Initiative (NOLA EE-SI) is a school readiness initiative designed to assure a seamless transition into school for children in eight schools operating in New Orleans' Recovery School District, Orleans Parish School Board, Algiers Charter School Association, and Independent Charters Schools. NOLA EE-SI aims to create replicable, integrated, aligned, family-focused learning communities so that children master skills and receive the cognitive, physical, family and community support necessary for school success.
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Summerbridge New OrleansStudents Teaching Students - Summerbridge New Orleans is an educational intervention initiative designed to identify talented and motivated elementary and middle school students from New Orleans public schools who have limited educational opportunities. This summer is the second program since Hurricane Katrina and aims to serve 105 rising 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.
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KIDsmART KID smART's engages children in learning about themselves and the world around them by brining professional artists into school classrooms, after-school programs, and community-based activities. After Hurricane Katrina, KID smART has rebuilt stronger than ever, working in 14 public schools, and creating AXIS (Arts Experiences in Schools), a collaborative teacher training program that helps classroom teachers integrate the arts into their everyday curriculum.
Save the Children
Save the Children's Hurricane Katrina Response/Recovery Team was one of the first organizations to respond after Hurricane Katrina hit, focusing on children's well-being and quality of life. In the first two and half years after the storm, Save the Children worked with families, communities, schools, and local organizations to directly and indirectly serve over 190,000 Katrina-affected children and caregivers. Now, Save the Children focuses on psychosocial programs that use structured play and activities to help children and caregivers strengthen resilience — the ability to “bounce back” — reestablish a sense of safety and normalcy, express their feelings, and build positive relationships.
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New Orleans Outreach
New Orleans Outreach brings volunteers into school classrooms to directly enrich children's education, to build the capacity of schools, and to increase public support of and involvement in public education. After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans Outreach was one of the first nonprofit education organizations up and running in four public schools in January 2006. New Orleans manages the ARMS-Outreach collaborative agreement that brings other New Orleans organizations working in the multidisciplinary and visual arts, reading, and other areas together into a comprehensive after-school program. Students who attended ARMS-Outreach after-school programs showed the greatest academic gains of all students tested by the state of Louisiana in the four-parish area.
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