The Department of Education鈥檚 acting assistant secretary for civil rights has spent part of every week in Mississippi ever since Hurricane Katrina swept across the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29.
After the hurricane, James F. Manning hurried to the area, touring demolished schools, wandering through 200-home housing developments reduced to rubble, and sitting in meetings as Mississippi officials struggled to put their education system back together.
Mr. Manning, who is also the Education Department鈥檚 chief of staff for its office of student financial aid, was among the high-level department staff members pressed into hurricane-relief duty following the storm that ravaged school systems in the Gulf Coast region and sent displaced students all over the country. They continued their work in the region after Hurricane Rita struck some of the same areas on Sept. 24.
Among the many senior department officials who have visited hurricane-ravaged states鈥攎ost more than once鈥攁re Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, who made visits last week to Baton Rouge, La., and Jackson, Miss., and Deputy Secretary Raymond J. Simon. Henry L. Johnson, the assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education, who until the end of July was Mississippi鈥檚 state schools chief, has spearheaded the department鈥檚 more public hurricane response and has also spent considerable time on the ground in the region.
But the department also sent a team of staff members who stayed in the field for days or weeks at a time, such as Mr. Manning, working side by side with state and local officials.
Answering Questions
Besides Mr. Manning, the team included the department鈥檚 assistant secretary for planning, Hudson La Force, who was stationed in Louisiana for two weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck and planned to return this week; and Darla Marburger, the department鈥檚 deputy assistant secretary for policy, who was in Texas for a week shortly after Hurricane Katrina and has made several follow-up visits.
The result, federal and state officials say, is better coordination for aid, improved communications, and a deeper understanding of the educational needs of the states and schools affected by Katrina and Rita.
鈥淚t has been beneficial for them and for us,鈥� said Meg Casper, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Department of Education. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e got somebody here on the ground, sitting in on the meetings, understanding the issues, and that can be translated鈥� to Washington.
The federal officials spent much of their time answering question after question about who will pay for rebuilding or textbooks and buses; whether students who have transferred to schools in new states still have to meet graduation requirements in their home state; and about what flexibility they will have on testing under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
鈥淧eople in the states have really wanted to talk to high-level people who didn鈥檛 have to check back with Washington on every question,鈥� said Christopher Doherty, the chief of staff to Deputy Secretary Simon. Mr. Doherty is overseeing the department鈥檚 in-the-field hurricane team. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really been an example of people working together.鈥�
Setting Up Shop
A week after Katrina brought disaster to the New Orleans area, Mr. La Force set up shop in the Louisiana education department鈥檚 headquarters in Baton Rouge to help state officials link up with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and answer federal education questions about what the agency will pay for.
With hotel rooms in the Louisiana capital in short supply, he moved into a dorm room at a school for the visually impaired.
鈥淟ouisiana leaders were very welcoming and happy to have us there,鈥� Mr. La Force said. 鈥淭hey quickly saw the benefit, which was short lines of communication and fast back-and-forth on issues and questions.鈥�
Both Mr. La Force and Mr. Manning say they were able to forge important relationships with local school leaders, as well as see for themselves what type of aid was needed.
鈥淯ntil you鈥檙e with a principal or a superintendent in one of their schools, and see and feel and smell everything around you, it鈥檚 hard to understand what the impact has really been,鈥� Mr. Manning said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 much more powerful than just seeing it on TV.鈥�
Mr. Manning said the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina hit home for him as he stood among the ruins of a demolished high school in Jackson County, Miss., Superintendent Rucks H. Robinson pointed to a spot, just a few yards away, where the bodies of a mother and two children had been found under debris. The three were still holding hands.
Longer Hours
With so much high-level firepower occupied with hurricane-recovery tasks, there has been some shuffling of workloads back in Washington.
For the most part, work at the department is proceeding as normal, said spokeswoman Susan Aspey, though she acknowledged that hurricane issues are a top priority.
To make up for the staff resources being sent to the Gulf Coast, employees in Washington are taking on new workloads to cover other issues.
鈥淧eople are working even longer hours here,鈥� Ms. Aspey said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really been a seven-day-a-week 鈥� effort.鈥�
The on-the-ground input has made a significant difference in the response from Washington, department officials say. Advice from Mr. La Force, Mr. Manning, and Ms. Marburger strongly influenced the administration鈥檚 plan for education-related hurricane relief, which President Bush unveiled in September but is awaiting action in Congress. (鈥淐uts Weighed to Pay for Hurricane Relief,鈥� this issue.)
鈥淚t was helpful initially to find out where [the U.S. Department of Education] stood,鈥� said Doris Voitier, the superintendent of the 8,800-student St. Bernard Parish school district in Louisiana, who dealt with Mr. La Force, and whose district was nearly wiped out by Hurricane Katrina. 鈥淗e was on a fact-finding mission to see what our needs were. 鈥� Hopefully, he will help make sure there is money for impacted areas like ours.鈥�
The field observations also played a large role in the development of a Sept. 29 announcement by Secretary Spellings that provides states, districts, and schools with various forms of flexibility under the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Doherty said. (鈥淕OP Plan Would Relax Rules for Storm-Affected Schools,鈥� Oct. 5, 2005.)
For Ms. Marburger, her experience was a bit different from that of her colleagues who were stationed in storm-ravaged areas. She was in Texas, visiting school districts that have enrolled as many as thousands of displaced students. As she watched Texas students helping those displaced by hurricanes open their lockers and find a seat in the cafeteria, she said the impact of the storms on young people鈥檚 lives became clear.
鈥淵ou can compare it to textbook learning versus hands-on learning,鈥� Ms. Marburger said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very different getting that one-on-one time with superintendents versus getting the five-minute distilled version on the phone.鈥�
