EDUCATION NEWS
November 28, 2005
Back to School in New Orleans
Three months after Hurricane Katrina, the city's first public school reopens
 Teacher Sabina Puri greets student Michael Bankston, 6, as students began returning to school in New Orleans. |
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It’s back to the books at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana. Three months after Hurricane Katrina flooded the city and forced thousands to evacuate, the school reopened its doors on Monday. It is the first public school to reopen in New Orleans since Katrina struck on August 29.
|  Assistant Superintendent Darryl Kilbert leads a group of students to the cafeteria at Benjamin Franklin Elementary school in New Orleans on Monday. |
Happy Homecoming
"The main thing is, the kids want to be home," said Tony Collins, whose son James is a fifth-grader. James attended a different school before Katrina hit, but it has not reopened.
First to arrive at school were 12-year-old Kenneth and 7-year-old Branden Galeano. Kenneth said he'd been going to school in Tennessee since his family evacuated New Orleans.
Welcome signs and smiling teachers greeted the school’s kindergarten through sixth-grade students. Officials expected about 200 students to enroll. Before Katrina, Franklin was a magnet school that enrolled students who achieved in math and science. A magnet school is a public school that attracts students in a specific area who are interested in certain subjects. The good news: Franklin is now open to anyone in the city who wants to attend.
The school’s neighborhood is in uptown New Orleans, which was not badly damaged by the hurricane. Before Katrina, the school had about 390 students from preschool through eighth grade. Most of its former students are attending other schools in communities where their families relocated after the storm.
More Openings
Officials originally thought New Orleans schools would be closed for the entire school year. A few private schools in New Orleans began reopening in October. Eleanor McCain Secondary School, a public school for students in grades seven through 12, will open in January. Officials hope to open more schools in 2006 as well.
The Audubon Zoo also opened its doors for the first time since Katrina hit. Thousands visited the zoo over Thanksgiving weekend. Many people were so emotional at the reopening that the zoo decided to post huggers at the gates.
"As people walk in, they're crying," said Ron Forman, the president of the Audubon Nature Institute. "This is a time of sadness in this city."
Many hope that reopening public places like schools and the zoo will encourage others to rebuild and reopen damaged facilities. There is still a great deal of destruction in New Orleans and a lot of work to do to rebuild the city.
