Long before Hurricane Katrina ravaged a city known for its bigger-than-life persona and Southern hospitality, New Orleans public schools were in crisis. Then, as today, educators and their union are the one constant trying to effect change.

"In 11 years we had nine superintendents," said Brenda Mitchell, president of the United Teachers of New Orleans. "Teachers and other employees maintained the district, a district which was in crisis for quite some time."

Now, nearly three years after the storm, educators and their union are struggling to make sense of a mishmash of charter schools, traditional public schools and state-run public schools. While attempting to meet the needs of a student and adult population dealing with the aftermath of a catastrophe and fighting an uphill battle to rebuild a school system with mostly inexperienced educators, they are trying to rebuild a union state leaders tried to cripple.

Shortly after Katrina tore through the Gulf in August 2005, politicians set to work dismantling the union and transforming New Orleans into the nation's largest school choice experiment.

The Louisiana legislature enacted a state takeover of the school system. More than 7,500 teachers, support staff and administrators were laid off and stripped of their collective bargaining rights. The educators also lost their health insurance.

In the aftermath, three distinct, but confusing, systems were created:

• New Orleans Public Schools. The troubled New Orleans Public Schools were effectively dismantled — only five schools were left in that system.

• Recovery Schools. The vast majority of traditional public schools were taken over and are now run by the state.

• Charter Schools. Representing 60 percent of public schools in the parish, charters are run by a variety of organizations, including several under the Recovery and New Orleans Public Schools districts.

"Too many public officials were motivated by union-busting in rebuilding New Orleans, from schools to transit systems to social services," said NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi. "The results shouldn't be a surprise to anyone."

The Bush administration "seized on an opportunity to completely dismantle the public schools," Iannuzzi said. "The real victims are the kids trying to get an education and the dedicated workers who had their livelihoods disrupted."

Solidarity

Labor has stepped in to help. UTNO, which is organizing furiously as more teachers learn of their lack of basic rights, was helped by the United Federation of Teachers, NYSUT's affiliate in New York City schools. June Feder, a psychologist with the UFT, led training for new teachers and counselors to help deal with the emotional aftermath.

"With something like a hurricane we certainly understand the physical impact, but the emotional and psychological impact we also have to pay attention to," said Feder, who is director of the New York State Psychological Association's Disaster Response Network. Feder and other psychologists talked to the educators about their own trauma, what teachers can do in their classrooms and ways to identify trauma in students.

Hundreds of NYSUT members have led fund-raising and supply drives and traveled to New Orleans to assist in rebuilding.

Cecelia McCall, of the Professional Staff Congress at the City University of New York, spent two weeks tutoring students in New Orleans. NYSUT staffer Tom Gillett and retired SUNY Brockport professor Vince Tollers, a member of United University Professions, accompanied their church group to the city and spent time rebuilding homes, including that of a retired New Orleans teacher.

"From book and supply drives to time spent with a hammer and nails or helping a child learn to read, NYSUT members continue to demonstrate solidarity in action," said Iannuzzi

Revolving door

Conversations with New Orleans educators reveal one common complaint about the reconstructed school system — high turnover. Sixty percent of the staff is new at the New Orleans Charter Science & Mathematics High School, said Sarah Burgess, an UTNO member and geography teacher at the school. Math and Science is one of the charters run under the New Orleans public schools.

UTNO President Mitchell said about half of the Recovery Schools' teacher population is new, while the teachers at the few remaining New Orleans Public Schools are mostly experienced.

"Some charters have zero teachers with experience or who were here pre-Katrina," Mitchell said. "The majority have very little classroom experience." Last year in one charter school, she said, 20 out of 30 staff members had left.

UTNO has spoken out against the lack of professional development for teachers, especially newer teachers. "These teachers need mentoring," said Mitchell. "There is a disconnect between cultures; teachers are being pushed into a situation and they are not being given the support they need."

Morale is flagging, especially among teachers who taught in New Orleans before the storm. "Veteran teachers who were highly qualified and certified before the storms have been told they have to take a basic skills test," Mitchell said. Many veterans who tried to come back after the hurricane were not rehired or even interviewed for openings.

Staci Francis was an elementary teacher for 13 years. After Katrina she found work in the oil industry before she was finally given the opportunity to teach. She now teaches first grade at Harriet Tubman Elementary, a charter under the Recovery system.

UTNO member Jim Randels teaches at schools under both the Recovery and Public Schools districts. "Last year 50 percent of new teachers were not certified. There is no professional development," he said. "Anyone who was teaching before the recovery was not valued." Randels noted the union was not part of the recovery commission charged with getting the schools reopened after the storms. "Teach for America (a federal program for entry-level teachers), not UTNO, had a seat on the Recovery Commission."

The influx of unfamiliar teachers and the lack of teacher support takes a toll on the most vulnerable.

"No attention is being paid to the emotional wellness of the kids," Mitchell said. "Children don't know what's going on or if their teacher is going to be there tomorrow." For students with special needs, the situation is severe.

"There are special education students who don't have IEPs in place," said Mitchell, who also spoke of students with physical disabilities or limited mobility assigned to classes on a building's second floor. Many special needs students are turned away from charter schools.

Professional development

UTNO has resumed offering professional development opportunities. Last fall the union won back the right to collectively bargain contracts with the Orleans Parish School Board and negotiations have begun. Because of a successful union grievance, the school board had to pay $1,000 to each subsequently laid-off member who was employed on the date of the hurricane.

Despite the turmoil, Mitchell sees progress. "I am more optimistic. I see our members. I hear hammers. I see the green that I love about the city," she said. Her thoughts on having to rebuild the union and negotiate a new contract: "It's re-energized me as a local leader. We are moving ahead."

— Clarisse Butler Banks