Former Louisiana school officials affected by Katrina offer advice to Florida schools

Beverly Lawrason was the assistant superintendent of a school district on the outskirts of New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit. 

Her district — St. Bernard Parish Public Schools — experienced “100 percent devastation.”

“Every home, every church, every building — everything was destroyed,” she said.

But Lawrason was determined to get the schools up and running. 

“We just did what we had to do to make it happen," she said. 

The school district installed portable classrooms. They took a flooded high school, gutted and deep-cleaned it, and set up classrooms on the second floor.

Two and a half months after Katrina ripped through St. Bernard Parish, its schools reopened. 

More: Hurricanes drove millions of students from school

“Even if we couldn’t give them back their homes, we could at least give them back their schools and familiar surroundings,” Lawrason said.

Reopening was important, not just to reestablish a school community for the children, but for the parents who needed time away from their children to rebuild their homes.

The schools offered supervision of children from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and day care for infants. They extended their academic day by 30 minutes and obtained permission to waive academic requirements. 

Although those efforts were important, Lawrason said she wished the district hadn’t been so intently focused on rebuilding and education.

“We weren’t attending to people’s emotional needs,” she said. “People were suffering. They lost everything they had.”

More: Red Cross counselors help shelter residents with stress

Katrina’s impact on Louisiana was far more severe than Irma’s on Florida. However, Lawrason said many of the lessons she took with her carry weight for all school communities affected by a natural disaster. 

Her first piece of advice is for school administrators to choose a staff member to handle FEMA-related paperwork. Secondly, she suggested educators prioritize emotional care.

St. Bernard schools brought in a team of mental health professionals from Louisiana State University who embedded with the school district.

One of those professionals was a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry, Joy Osofsky.

"Schools play a very important role in children's lives," Osofsky said. "But it's hard to just go back and be emotionally available."

Osofsky offered several recommendations to Florida school districts. 

She said students affected by Irma should be given ample opportunities to share their stories, in both a classroom and a more private setting. 

For children who might be more reserved, Osofsky recommended teachers make time for them to draw their experiences.

Florida schools should consider training faculty how to work with children who have experienced trauma, she said. 

Teachers should be on the lookout for students showing behavior changes, such as new trouble paying attention, sitting still or getting along with others. Teachers also should be concerned about children who keep to themselves more than usual.

Osofsky advised schools to consider offering psychiatric screenings to students so they don’t have to seek a doctor.

“It’s a very effective way to reach children because it destigmatizes getting mental health services,” she said.

Schools should not forget about teachers' needs, because they too might have experienced trauma, Osofky said. For example, principals might consider holding weekly meetings for faculty to talk through their feelings and concerns.

Osofsky warned that teachers, parents and children alike might feel new anxiety during thunderstorms.

What Osofsky learned most from her time with St. Bernard schools, she said, was how resilient adults and children can be in difficult times.

“Despite what they’ve gone through, they’re able to say, ‘I’m going to be OK.’ ”