Routine Is an Important Part of Healing

September 8, 2005
Houston, Texas

On the morning of his first day at Oak Creek Elementary in Houston, TX, Sir Henri was so withdrawn he could barely unwrap his arms from around his older brother, Isaiah. But by lunchtime, the kindergartner was smiling and laughing, surrounded by new friends and enjoying his chicken nuggets.

The children who evacuated New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina have been through an experience most kids will never have to endure, and though they've survived and are recovering, they are understandably traumatized, confused, and afraid. For the youngest Katrina evacuees, school is their refuge and provides a much-needed sense of normalcy.

"Routine is the most important thing for these children right now," said Oak Creek Elementary school counselor Bonnie Stover. "Many of the families who've come here have lost everything; it all just floated away. But for the children to go about the regular school day during this time, it's an important part of healing."

The goal for Stover and other staff at Oak Creek is to make the transition to this new school as easy as possible for the students and to get them back into a normal routine -- while keeping a sharp eye out for signs of stress or trauma.

Carol Burke-Neale, special education teacher and NEA member, is working to assess the new students' reading levels so they can be placed in the appropriate classes. Burke-Neale gave a bright new fourth grader named Paige a story to read that happened to be about a student who was one of the first to desegregate a school in his community.

"What do you think this student was feeling?" Burke-Neale asked Paige.

Paige replied that the new student was probably scared, and probably worried that his teacher might be mean. She thought he might also worry about "what color" the other students would be, and what they would be like. By assessing Paige's reading skills with this kind of story, Burke-Neale was allowing her to indirectly express her fears and anxieties about her own recent experiences.

Stover and Burke-Neale believe that educators should be careful about accentuating the disaster and singling out the evacuees as different from other students. At the same time, the children need to make new friends and know that they are welcomed.

It's a delicate balance, but parents who have registered their children at Oak Creek are grateful for the warm reception their children are receiving. "Some of the parents have said they didn't know if schools would want to take in their kids," Stover said. "They were worried they might not be welcome."

Having their children invited into classrooms where they'll be safe and nurtured from 8 to 3 every day puts parents' minds at ease and allows them to focus on the demands of finding work or emergency assistance.

"And when parents' fears are put to rest, their children feel more at ease," adds NEA member Sarah Warthen, a school counselor at Mary Marek Elementary School in the Alvin Independent School District, where 86 evacuated students have enrolled so far.

"These students are still dealing with the tremendous shock of being uprooted. They break down sometimes, and it can be overwhelming for them, so we're starting support groups where they can talk about it with each other," Warthen said. "We're focusing on helping them develop friendships. They've lost a sense of community, and we want to help rebuild that."

At Oak Creek Elementary, Sir Henri had already started building a community in his kindergarten class. He'd made a bunch of new friends by lunchtime, and even though he didn't know their names, his teacher knew he'd learn them in time. The Oak Creek staff all believe that the more names Sir Henri remembers, the more hurricane troubles he will forget.

-- Cindy Long, NEA staff writer