Catholic Schools Post Katrina
First Lady Laura Bush was in the neighborhood today, talking about rebuilding schools and their libraries. Good for her. Unfortunately, her remarks - in a glaring omission - neglect to give credit to the heroic job the Catholic school system in New Orleans has done post Katrina.
My own Jesuit High School took 5 to 6 feet of water in Mid City New Orleans. Notice the submerged pick-up trucks in the yard. Despite this, the school kept its faculty employed, found schools and lodging for all of its students, and re-opened in New Orleans when the students returned from Thanksgiving break. No New Orleans public school even re-opened in the fall - not even the undamaged schools on the Westbank. And Jesuit wasn't even the first metro-area Catholic school to re-open - Catholic schools in Jefferson parish and on the Westbank opened just weeks after the storm.
Laura Bush praises the good folks in St. Bernard (civil) Parish for their plans to reopen schools in the fall. That's great, but the Archdiocese opened a school in St. Bernard this spring.
In all of this, Catholic schools have accepted hundreds (500, I believe) of public-school students into their ranks. And if those students cannot afford to pay, no problem. The Archdiocese is losing $1 million a month, but then who - besides the local, state, and federal governments - can put a price on education?
My own Jesuit High School took 5 to 6 feet of water in Mid City New Orleans. Notice the submerged pick-up trucks in the yard. Despite this, the school kept its faculty employed, found schools and lodging for all of its students, and re-opened in New Orleans when the students returned from Thanksgiving break. No New Orleans public school even re-opened in the fall - not even the undamaged schools on the Westbank. And Jesuit wasn't even the first metro-area Catholic school to re-open - Catholic schools in Jefferson parish and on the Westbank opened just weeks after the storm.
Laura Bush praises the good folks in St. Bernard (civil) Parish for their plans to reopen schools in the fall. That's great, but the Archdiocese opened a school in St. Bernard this spring.
In all of this, Catholic schools have accepted hundreds (500, I believe) of public-school students into their ranks. And if those students cannot afford to pay, no problem. The Archdiocese is losing $1 million a month, but then who - besides the local, state, and federal governments - can put a price on education?