A Humbling Experience

This was my second trip to NOLA, and it really opened my eyes to the complexity of their educational system right now. NOLA's public education system is run 60% by charter schools and 40% by public schools. The school we volunteered at was called John Dibert School and was located in the Mid City area. This school was run by the public system at one time, but then got turned into a charter school. The volunteer work that we did at John Dibert was phenomenal. We set up furniture, classrooms, made classroom materials, organized closets, set up whiteboards, and also created life-long relationships with eachother. During this trip I also had the opportunity to visit the Ninth Ward. Even though there are families that have come back to rebuild their homes, many still stand vacant and destroyed in the area. I also had the opportunity to see the new levee and to be really honest it's higher than the old levee, but not by much. I hope and pray that another Katrina doesn't happen because I don't know if the new levee will hold much more than the old levee did. Apparently Brad Pitt is trying to rebuild homes in the area. His goal is 150, but right now there are only 20. These homes are "green" and more energy efficient, but apparently cost 300,000 as a whole. No wonder many people aren't flocking to get their homes rebuilt. I couldn't even afford that home, and most likely the families that used to live in the ninth ward can't afford the upkeep of a house like that either. I think it's great what Brad Pitt is doing, but I wish he could make the homes a little more affordable especially since our economy isn't doing so great right now. I plan to go again to NOLA next summer and keep "paying it forward."