Redlands Alums Reach out to the Youngest Katrina Victims

Julie Michaels ’92, a teacher at Highland Grove Elementary School, returned from the Alumni Association trip to New Orleans last spring touched by the struggle Gulf Coast teachers face as they try to both nurture their students and rebuild their own lives.

Michaels, the former Alumni Association president, talked about conditions in the New Orleans area to students at her school and asked them to collect change for the cause.

The youngsters raised about $2,200 to help pay for school uniforms for students at Andrew Jackson Elementary School, which Michaels said is the only public elementary school that currently serves St. Bernard Parish, one of the poorest areas ravaged by the hurricane.

And teachers, students, parents and administrators at Highland Grove have all pledged to provide long-term assistance.

“I think we are teaching the kids that they can make a difference, and that it is important to do what we can to make sure we don’t forget our neighbors,” said Michaels.

She and a group of parents, teachers and administrators from Highland Grove are planning to return to the area next spring to help in the library and in other areas and bring supplies.

“What they really need is manpower – people that are willing to go in there and do the work,” she said. “They also need supplies – not money, because a lot of times they don’t have a way to buy what they need. They need the actual items provided and ready for use.”

Michaels found during her trip to the Gulf Coast that many of the teachers at Andrew Jackson live in small construction-style trailers on the campus because their own homes have been destroyed and they have nowhere else to go.

“These are the stories that you don’t see on TV,” Michaels said. “We absolutely cannot forget what has happened and all the needs that are still there. There’s so much work left to do.”