NEWS RELEASE
Release Date: September 7, 2005
Contact: Caron Blanton, Public Relations Director, (601) 359-3706
State Superintendent of Education to participate in press conference to discuss assessment of schools following Hurricane Katrina
State Superintendent of Education Dr. Hank M. Bounds will participate in a press conference on Thursday, September 8 at 4 p.m. at the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, 1410 Riverside Drive, Jackson. He will discuss assessment of schools following Hurricane Katrina and plans underway to provide educational services to all students as soon as possible.
The Mississippi Department of Education began a needs assessment last week to determine the needs of the students and districts impacted by Hurricane Katrina and how the Department and other local school districts can assist them. Dr. Bounds conducted an aerial inspection of the impacted region and is meeting with local superintendents to discuss their needs, short and long-range plans and how the Department can assist them.
“The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina will impact every district of our state,” said Dr. Hank Bounds, State Superintendent of Education. “From repairing damaged and destroyed school facilities to educating children displaced by the storm, I know that our education community will pull together as we have many times before. We may be facing unprecedented challenges, but we will work through them together.”
Preliminary data collected by the Mississippi Department of Education indicates that Hurricane Katrina has impacted 271 schools in 44 districts, representing nearly 160,000 students. The Department has requested that districts that have displaced students in their area in need of educational services provide them. The Department of Education will work with districts on issues such as transportation, class size, residency, funding and immunizations.
“We must provide a warm welcome to all of these students and their families, whether they are from Mississippi, Louisiana or Alabama, as they relocate to the homes of friends and families or shelters,” said Dr. Bounds.
Governor Haley Barbour's Disaster Declaration allows flexibility in school management encompassing issues such as purchasing, school accountability, enrollment and board approval.
The first step in the recovery process is determining what assistance is needed and who can provide the assistance. The Department is in the process of collecting the information and has established a Hurricane Response Call Center to answer questions that families, teachers and school district personnel may have. The number for the Response Call Center is 601-359-3764.
The Department's Web site is being utilized to also provide information on frequently asked questions, school openings and a way for school personnel to post information on their location if they evacuated the area before the hurricane.
The Department has also issued a request for supplies and equipment from unaffected districts to be matched with the districts that are now beginning their recovery efforts. Damage Assessment and Recovery Teams will be dispatched from the Department at the request of local superintendents. They will visit districts, provide technical assistance and facilitate the acquisition and distribution of any available resources.
The USDA has already issued a memo on the Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) policy for the feeding of school children in areas recently devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Schools will be allowed to serve all meals free to attending children through September 30.
“Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with those who have suffered so terribly during this hurricane,” said Dr. Bounds. “We will have to lean very heavily on one another during the coming months, but I know that we will all work together to do what is best for the children.”
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