We went back!!!! Our organization returned to New Orleans for spring break in 2009. We left on March 7th and returned to Carbondale on March 14th. New Orleans was again impacted by hurricanes during 2008. The following article described the impact of Gustav and Ike during the summer of 2008: http://www.uusc.org/category/blog_subject/hurricane_katrina . You can check out our blog to read about the experiences of the participants.

Alternative Spring Break 2008

On March 8 – 15^th, a group of students, faculty and children went on a relief trip to New Orleans. Eight undergraduates in Curriculum & Instruction’s Early Childhood program (Nikole Forester, Melissa Gandy, Kim Hock, Sharun Holman, Meagan Hutchings, Dominique Jackson, Joanie Weber and Stephanie Webster), two C & I faculty members (Christie McIntyre and John McIntyre), a faculty member from Educational Psychology and Special Education (Debbie Bruns) and their daughters (Mikayla Bowen and Marlie Bruns) worked in child care centers and elementary schools and learned about the state of early care and education two and a half years after Hurricane Katrina.

 

educ8kdz is a registered student organization focusing on the needs of young children in Southern Illinois and in areas of need. A variety of fundraisers were conducted to raise funds (e.g., bake sales, babysitting) as well as outreach to local civic and religious organizations. A book drive netted over 3000 picture books, textbooks and other literacy materials for infants to eighth graders.

 

The group focused their efforts in the Lower Ninth Ward, the area most devastated by the hurricane. A tour of the area had many contrasts such as homes built by the New Orleans Habitat Musicians' Village developed by Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis on one side of a street and abandoned houses with the original markings on the other. Walking around the area most intensively damaged by the levee breach was consisted of little more than lots with only the remains of the foundation of houses or patches of grass and other growth demarcating a fence line or garage.  

 

Dr. Ramona Jean-Perkins, Associate Professor in Early Childhood Education at Dillard University, assisted educ8kdz to make contact with early childhood professionals at Gilda’s Academy, Happy Kids, Gentilly Terrace Elementary School and Martin Luther King Jr. School of Science and Technology. The group painted, raked, assembled and arranged a preschool classroom, assisted to catalog library books and modeled instructional strategies for child care providers and elementary teachers. Dr. Jean-Perkins also arranged two visits to Dillard University. The first visit was for the SIU students to meet Dillard students and learn about their lives post-Katrina. The latter meeting was for the C&I students to teach their New Orleans counterparts about webpage design.

 

Agenda for Children is a child care resource and referral agency providing assistance to families. The Director, who continues to live in a FEMA trailer while her home is renovated, shared how the demand for services is growing as families return to the area but owners of child care centers are struggling to rebuild and find qualified staff. The group also met with Paul Vallas, Superintendent of the Recovery School District. He shared information about New Orleans’ efforts to recruit teachers and continue to open school buildings. For example, Esperanza Charter School used to serve middle school grades. Now, it is a K-8 building with a principal from Chicago at the helm.

 

The trip also included a visit to the French Quarter and the Louisiana Children’s Museum. The group also sampled traditional Cajun fare such as red beans and rice, crawfish and gumbo. educ8kdz hopes to make this trip an annual event.