Day Two at Andrew Jackson Elementary

Mrs. Donna Schultz, pictured below at her desk, is one great lady! While living in an 8' x 24' FEMA trailer for the past seventeen months, she has started school at night to work on her Master's degree; while she and her husband are rebuilding their home and raising their special-needs, 16-year old son. How she keeps so upbeat amid the complexities of post-Katrina life in St. Bernard Parish is a mystery to mere mortals like me.

Her class is filled with 26 kids who can tell story after story regarding their experiences with Katrina, and any one is capable of curling your hair. One boy related how he and his family clung to a light pole for hours during the storm, afraid that they would "go flying" if they let go. Winds were 100 - 140 mph in the area, as the waters reached the second floor of the schools and office buildings. 65,000 people lived in this area, and only three of their homes escaped the flood waters after the levees broke. Water in the downtown area reached 20 to 30 feet. Most residential areas had from 14 to 20 feet of water, and the peak depths lasted for three days. Several feet of water remained for weeks.

School appears to be an island of normalcy in the Chalmette area of St. Bernard Parish. As mentioned previously, the Andrew Jackson (public) Elementary School combines the seven elementary schools which existed prior to Katrina. None survived! AJE also has the preschool kids down to the age of three, so things are hopping in this 2,000 student facility. Workers did an outstanding job of opening this school, and the walls and ceilings show no evidence of the water levels that existed in the area for weeks.

With 2,000 students arriving at the same time, traveling through a minefield of abandon neighborhoods, on streets where only a few traffic lights are working and using a single driveway - traffic control can be a nightmare. However, they have it down to a science and it all seems to work flawlessly. Cooperation and patience have become the watchword in this town.

These are the FEMA trailers which are spotted on the grounds of the school and reserved for teachers and school personnel. All over town there are FEMA trailer parks like this, only most are much larger. FEMA trailers are also spotted on home owner's lots when they plan to rebuild their homes. 24' x 8' is the standard size. For my few nights in trailer #AJ-16 this was enough room, but it is very tight for families. "Trailer stories" abound, wherever two or three are gathered.

First Day in Chalmette, near New Orleans

Chalmette is the first suburb east of the infamous 9th ward of New Orleans, reached from this exit off I-10. From this exit, it is just a few miles south to the downtown area of Chalmette. The road is only a few feet above the ever present water, and there are countless remnants of Katrina along the way: overturned boats, semi trailers in the water, skeletons of buildings, twisted billboards and a few businesses proudly proclaiming, "WE'RE BACK!"

The city center is bisected by a street which runs east and west into New Orleans, and the shopping center pictured here is typical of what is left standing - not a single store remains in this area where 20 to 30 feet of water drowned the city.

This home is located across the street from the totally-destroyed, soon to be demolished home owned by Donna Schultz's Mother. The man who owns this house did extensive rescue work in the neighborhood using a wave runner. His house, located just a few blocks from the Andrew Jackson Elementary School, was totally under water.

Some residents have moved into FEMA trailers parked next to their homes while they are trying to rebuild them. This home is a few blocks from the school. Note the portable pump, one of many around the area.

This is Andrew Jackson Elementary School, where our donations are going. The children from seven destroyed elementary schools are now bused here. The school was the first to be put back in service, although it sits in a neighborhood that is totally destroyed. The FEMA trailers are mostly used by teachers, although I'll move into #16 tomorrow. #16 was just vacated by a teacher who is able to move into a new home.

Donna Schultz met me at the trailer, and we were able to off load seventeen cases of supplies, which complement the several shipments we have made so far.

I could post hundreds of heart breaking pictures, but the story would not change. The survivors are trying to restore some semblance of normal life, but it will be a long time in coming. Donna Schultz and her fellow teachers are doing a wonderful job, working under unbelievable conditions. They certainly deserved the support we have given them so far.

Andrew Jackson's Hermitage

I couldn't drive through Nashville without taking a few hours to tour the Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's home just outside of town. This place is not only beautiful on the outside, but every room is furnished with the original furniture which President Jackson used. They will not allow pictures inside the building, but suffice it to say it is beautiful.

The wall paper in the entrance hall was manufactured in Paris, France, and features a scene taken from Homer's Illiad. It still looks beautiful.

A hero in the war of 1812, Jackson and his army drove the British from New Orleans, and rode his popularity from that victory to the Presidency. No wonder Andrew Jackson Elementary School bears his name. The "Battle of New Orleans" was fought in Chalmette!

The view from the back porch is shown above. The home was a part of a cotton plantation, and the rustic building in this picture was one of the slave quarters.

Tonight, I'm in Laurel, MS, about two hours and fifteen minutes from Chalmette. I'll have time to see some of Chalmette on Sunday before the SAINTS play the Chicago Bears for the Championship. I don't think I'll see many people on the street during the Saints game.

WOW!!! This Is A Great, Compassionate Class

The kids blew me away today! I stopped at Granby Elementary to pick up the supplies and cash the class was collecting for the Project at Andrew Jackson Elementary. A whole case of supplies and $446.64 in cash (held by the two girls in the front right) were raised over the holidays and the first week after. I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT! When we first discussed the problems at Andrew Jackson, the class thought they might be able to raise $50.00, and that would have been terrific. But, $446.64????

I can't say enough wonderful things about this group of young adults. You can tell by the smile on my face (back left) that I am very proud of their compassion and their hard work in raising the money.

Not just the children, but Mrs. Dicke (front right) deserves to be recognized. When she heard that our teacher in Andrew Jackson Elementary (Donna Schultz) was starting on her master's degree in night school, she offered to share her entire professional library with her. In addition to the other supplies, I'll be bringing two cases of Mrs. Dicke's professional books to Donna Schultz. This story just keeps getting better and better!

Packing Week - FEMA Trailer

This is the week to pack the van, and see how much it can hold. I did get some great news from Lisa Young, Assistant Principal at the school. She has made arrangements for me to stay in one of the FEMA trailers while I'm at the school (if I wanted). So, after getting organized in a hotel for one night when I arrive, I'll move into one of the trailers that many of the teachers and families of the Andrew Jackson students have been living in for the past seventeen months. I should get a little appreciation of what they have been going through, albeit for a short time.

With my van at capacity, I did make a few more shipments directly from Staples this week. They were scheduled to arrive Friday afternoon, but I haven't heard yet. I've noticed that communications to the school are very difficult. Despite repeated tries at telephoning the school, I have never connected. All our communications have been through email or through Donna Schultz's cell phone. I suspect the lack of phone lines is but one of the resident's frustrations.

Another 4th Grade Classes Connects

Today, we had a second fourth grade class bring in their collection of supplies and money for the Andrew Jackson Project. Ms. Carmie Hazlett's class at Slate Run Elementary School will be sending two large cartons to the fourth grade class of Ms. Kimberly Derouen at Andrew Jackson. Diane DeMuth, one of the Circle-of-Grandparents volunteers, who works with Ms. Hazlett in the class, was "overwhelemed" by the outpouring of compassion from these "wonderful kids." Now that the ball is rolling, we hope other classes will pick up the torch, and run with it.

Some History

The school is located in Chalmette, a suburb of New Orleans. Chalmette's history is interesting in that it was the location of the famous Battle of New Orleans where the United States forces under General Andrew Jackson defeated the British in 1815.

On August 29, 2005 an enormous storm surge was pushed by Hurricane Katrina up the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, a little-used commercial channel dug by the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1960s. The entire town was innundated, up to 30 feet in some places. As a result, in a matter of hours, Chalmette was almost entirely destroyed. A mile to the west, the 9th ward of New Orleans was similarly flooded.