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Schools Lend A Hand

By David Bjerklie

This was the toughest back-to-school day ever for more than 350,000 students whose lives had been turned upside down by a devastating storm. But with the help of schools in states as far away as Washington, Iowa and Maine, young victims of Hurricane Katrina were able to start their school year.

School supplies--pencils, notebooks, backpacks and even clothes--were donated by the ton. Thousands of local fund-raisers were held. And last week, President Bush announced that Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings was working on a plan to help schools cover the expense of additional students.

"It's been a great outpouring of love and care and concern," New Orleans school counselor Saramae Dalferes told TFK. She evacuated to Florida and then helped relocated students register for school in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.

But there are still many problems ahead. Teachers and school counselors are helping kids understand their feelings of loss and grief--and anger. Many kids will face problems as they try to adjust to new people and places. Some kids will be lucky enough to return to their old schools soon. But for many others, there is no school to return to. Half of the schools in the areas that were hardest hit in Mississippi were completely destroyed.

Reilly Rendero, 11, of New Orleans, began fifth grade last week in Destin, Florida. "I like art, and I have a book full of drawings--what my house used to look like--to remember what I had. It's pretty sad, but I try to keep positive," she told TIME. The first two days were really hard. Reilly and her 9-year-old sister, Remy, worry about the future. But with a little help from their new friends, the sisters feel that things are getting better.

Next: Farmers Serve Up School Lunch