When a catastrophe strikes a community, the response of those affected may vary. But whether it is a hurricane, deadly violence, or killer tornados, the schools have to push forward and transform a traumatic situation into an opportunity for improvements. Schools and universities must move forward to make sure students continue to learn and grow.…

In the wake of superstorm Sandy and a presidential election in which the candidates from both major parties essentially ignored climate change, this author states that it is time that schools begin to play their part in creating climate literate citizens. He contends that Hurricane Sandy, and the superstorms that will certainly follow, are not…

In this essay, filmmaker and educator Caroline Stephenson tells how Hurricane Irene started her on a journey to make a documentary about Rosenwald Schools in her native Hertford County, North Carolina. After many years working as an assistant director in Los Angeles on films and television shows, Stephenson moved back to the family farm to raise…

For some superintendents' families, living in the school district of employment can have its perks. Sometimes even living in a neighboring community has its difficulties. This article discusses some issues when superintendents and their families decide to stay or to leave a community.

Many people are invisible within and to the wider society. An adjunct aspect of that situation is that the marginalized are also invisible to one another. This "mutual invisibility" undermines the possibilities of cooperative transcommunal alliances. It is Cedric Sunray's ("Similarities between Tribes and the Ninth Ward,"…

Classmates at Reservoir High School sometimes call Dalyn Jones and Anthea Fields the "Katrina chicks." Left homeless by the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, both teenagers migrated from the New Orleans area to Maryland in September of 2006. They met for the first time here when they showed up on the same day to register for 9th…

Nearly four months after Hurricane Katrina laid waste to their hometown, Jonathan and Shelley Midura are packing up the family's van and heading back from this Washington suburb to New Orleans. They just have to figure out where their three children will go to school. In this article the family shares their thoughts and feelings on changing…

Experts have long suggested that re-establishing routines, particularly school routines, can be therapeutic for children who have experienced upheaval in their home lives. This article briefly describes an 8th grader's experience with this, after losing her home to Hurricane Katrina and having her life moved to suburban Washington.

"Education Week" Staff Writer Michelle R. Davis sat down with Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, on January 9, 2006, in the secretary's office at the U.S. Department of Education. This article contains excerpts from that interview. Secretary Spellings notes that being a parent of school-age children has given her an unusual…

This article features the text of a speech by Richard Whiteside, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Dean of Admission at Tulane University in New Orleans, that was presented during AACRAO's Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) Conference, November 15, 2005, in Chicago. In his speech, Whiteside recounts his personal story of living…

In this article, the author discusses disaster-recovery planning in light of his personal experience following Hurricane Katrina. He relates the advice he received from Captain Joseph R. Castillo, Chief of Operations for the U.S. Coast Guard Eighth District in New Orleans: Focus on the process of planning, and not on building a plan. The author…

Legends and tall tales have been part of the American culture for ages. Students are probably already familiar with the tales of how Pecos Bill fearlessly tamed a ferocious tornado, or Paul Bunyan effortlessly restrained a great river. Such tales have been passed down from generation to generation to explain humanity, the natural world, and…

Young children are just beginning to develop an understanding of time. In the preschool and kindergarten years children often have difficulty understanding the difference between yesterday, today and tomorrow, much less Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. This article offers tips that teachers may use to make these abstract concepts less confusing: (1)…

This article describes how a teacher changed all his plans to teach the hurricane. When the Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, kids become naturally curious and seek answers in an event this big. The author suggests the use of tragedies to help them grow as students and as citizens.

Offers suggestions for coping with the photographic problems that winter weather conditions present. (RL)