The Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

186,000 Louisiana students have been displaced, according to Louisiana Superintendent of Education Cecil Picard.

Over 90% of New Orleans public schools are closed for this school year, displacing over 60,000 of our nation's neediest children.

And yet, for the first time, we have the opportunity to recreate the New Orleans public school system, a system that many have described as the worst in the nation.

Hard-hit St. Bernard Parish has announced that their schools are closed for the year. Both Plaquemines and Jefferson parishes are in the process of determining how many schools they can open, with both aiming for at least 50%. Helping hands are needed to rebuild these systems.

Meanwhile, public, parochial and private schools in surrounding parishes that are up and running are scrambling to absorb large numbers of displaced public, parochial and private school children. Teachers need and want to understand how to teach this tidal wave of diverse students. Principals are looking for ways to meet the challenge with new levels of instructional leadership.

Parents are searching for what to do and how to help their children cope with the impact of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita on their families and friends.

Witnessing the widespread destruction left many believing that our communities can never be made whole again. But we will persevere and we will make it better than before.

Yet this depends deeply upon the delivery of programs and support services of the highest quality to schools and school systems, principals, teachers and parents; and to recreating the New Orleans school system with an infrastructure that will ensure its success for decades to come.

We ask individuals, businesses and organizations to join us by investing in the Center for Development and Learning’s programs and support services that can contribute significantly to the restoration, rebuilding and recreating of Louisiana’s schools.

Our children need your help.

Click here to make your secure donation online with a credit card.

Click here for a form that you can print out and mail along with your contribution.