Angry Skies

Educators join to help colleagues survive the record-breaking storms of 2004.

"The children were in the tub. My husband and I sat on the edge. We had a mattress ready to pull over the kids to protect them if the roof collapsed," recalls Cathi Hile.

When the storm finally passed, they saw that their roof was destroyed—shingles gone and plywood torn up. By the second night, water-logged plaster ceilings were caving in and they were forced to get out, leaving them homeless for nearly three weeks until they found an apartment 25 miles away.

But much more was on the way. During the next few weeks, three more hurricanes slashed through the state, and Florida officials said every single school closed for at least one day. Of 67 districts, only three were operating the day after Labor Day; several shut down for nearly three weeks. 

In Pensacola, teachers teamed up with the local newspaper to mail lesson plan packages to parents while schools shut down after Hurricane Ivan, and teachers staffed a "Survivin' Ivan" hotline to answer parent questions on how to use them.

In Charlotte County, where 6 of 21 schools were destroyed or heavily damaged, students were forced to attend the remaining safe schools in shifts. Some start as early as 6 a.m. Others end as late as 7:10 p.m.

Teaming up

"That storm," he says, "took a big hunk out of my life."

But Bouton said the union and school administration worked well together to get education started again. "It wasn't a top-down thing," he says. "Nobody has ever organized double sessions as fast as we did. We suffered, but the bigger story is how well we came back."

Throughout the state, in fact, members tell similar stories—of how union leaders and colleagues from across the country and state banded together to lend a hand through the crisis.

NEA President Reg Weaver toured the state by bus in October, stopping at Griffin Elementary School in the small rural town of Frostproof to deliver books, school supplies, and encouragement to educators there. Charley had blown off most of the school's roof, forcing the district to rent temporary space in a nearby church. Educators carried everything they could save to the church in four long days and then started teaching. Across the country, students at Jim Hill Middle School in Minot, North Dakota, laid plans to raise money for Griffin Elementary by raking leaves, baby-sitting, and walking neighborhood dogs, according to NEA Board of Directors member Pauline Wahl, a sixth-grade science teacher at the North Dakota school.

Meanwhile, 30 Broward Teachers Union members volunteered to work up to 21 continual days in another county, St. Lucie, to help clean and repair damaged schools.

ESPs to the Rescue

But Ivan didn't keep school employees idle for long, not even Elberta paraeducator Shirley Campbell, left homeless by the storm. She immediately reported for duty at Elberta Middle School to help other education support professionals (ESPs) clean up debris and water.

"Our ESPs are fantastic," says school secretary/business manager Sandra Clark, president of Baldwin County ESP. "We had extensive damage around here, but ESPs called in to see where help was needed. Some even helped our school's neighbors clear debris from their yards!"

Cafeteria employees moved food from damaged schools and cooked meals in hurricane shelters, while security guards protected damaged schools.

And school bus drivers in Mobile County's 615-vehicle fleet played a critical role as the "evacuation machinery" for their region, notes fleet manager Bob Brunson. He easily got 20 drivers to volunteer for duty during the storm to evacuate elderly and disabled residents. Eight ESPs were called in to ferry people and property, including breathing machines, to seven shelters.

"We did a good job!" says proud driver Stephanie Lindsay, who steered her bus through wind and rain.

Finally, before Mobile County schools returned to business, transportation department utility workers such as Sarah Horton inspected "every inch" of this district's 1,238 miles of roads to ensure removal of debris and power lines from bus routes.

"I even drove my truck down narrow dirt roads to ensure they were passable," Horton reports. "It's part of an ESP's job of ensuring that children are safe!"

—Alain Jehlen and Dave Winans

Fund For Florida Victims

The Florida Education Association (FEA) has created the FEA Hurricane Relief Fund to assist members who suffered heavy losses. In just three Florida counties, more than 100 FEA members became homeless and more than 600 sustained severe home damage—while countless others face repairs that insurance won't fully cover. And many will have to replace all of their possessions.

To help, you can send a check to:

FEA