A wonderful experience!

Happy Times Update

Hi All,
Just wanted to share that I talked with Ms B. at Happy Times last night and she told me that everyone was doing well and had survived Gustav and the evacuation without any big problems. She also mentioned that every time she returns to NOLA after evacuating she is reminded how much she loves the city and that she will always come back to it. I told her I have a sense that many of us feel the same way.

join us at Heartland Cafe Sept. 11

hi friends - Trish and Brigid ("The Betty Fords") will be joining me for an acoustic evening of songs and fun at the Heartland Cafe on Thursday, Sept. 11, from 8-10 pm. Suggested donation is $7 per person and food and drink are plentiful. I have performed at the Heartland before and when I heard them during the NOLA trip I thought - wow~ They're great ~ I'll invite them to do a guest set. I hope a lot of you from the trip can come that night - let's call it a reunion!! Bring your photos, etc - and stories. Heartland Cafe is at 7000 N. Glenwood 1 block N of the Morse el stop. Free parking for cafe patrons is one block North on the W side of Glenwood. Hope to see you there!! Kristin/*

Pictures of progress

Relaxing after a hard day of work.
NLU's 2008 service team to NOLA: (back: Eunice Shapiro, Kennen Lems, Adrienne Waller, Karen Roth, Alex Schnitzer, Pam Kosinski, Tracey Lio, Kristin Lems. middle: Trish Difazio, Martina Smith, Helen Kelliher, Brigid Gallagher, Angela D'Agostino, Nina D'Agostino. front: Corbin Leafman, Robyn Kelton, Melissa Harris.)
Eunice and Bonita (one very happy office manager).

Central City Neighborhood.

Boxes and boxes of Books. Matt, Kindergarten teacher with Alex after a day's work.

Shelving the 1000's of books.
Brigid, Alex, Corbin and Pam preparing furniture.

KIPP Central City Academy courtyard.

KIPP Academy hallway.
June construction.
Courtyard construction.
2nd floor balcony looking at courtyard.

When I visited the KIPP Central City Academy site, on Thalia and Magnolia, in June, I saw a school building under heavy construction. I was surprised at the work that was still in progress when we arrived mid-August. The photos document the rebuilidng of the school building and the work of the team to get KIPP Central City Academy ready to open August 18, 2008.

I'm beyond grateful for this incredible experience. It is hard for me to put my thoughts into words at this time so I'll let some of my photos speak for me.

The lower 9th ward....3 years later.

More lower 9th ward.

Last day at KIPP.

One of the KIPP classrooms. (photo taken by Melissa)

Royal Castle

Royal Castle

Happy Times

Happy Times

Happy Times

Happy Times

During the past year I have traveled to New Orleans 4 times to work with schools and teachers rebuilding after the 2005 hurricane season, these trips have proven to be life changing experiences for me. Through our work in NOLA I have learned a great deal about politics, poverty, inequality in education, and advocacy. It is never a dull moment in NOLA, and this trip in particular came at a time in my life when I needed to be reminded of the power of hope, the process of recovery, and that lasting change is incremental—and at times, painfully slow. I feel very blessed to have been able to share this experience with all of you.

(Photo taken outside the House of Blues, New Orleans)

Reflecting on Nola

This trip was truly enlightening. I was never aware of the inequities of urban education. The school facility itself, was a work in progress and was lacking in some of the most essential supplies. I am truly glad that we as a group were able to go down and help these people. The school immediately welcomed us and shared their dedication to learning and to their students. They paid attention to even the smallest of details for their students (washing all the windows so the students have a clean environment in which to work). The people in the neighborhood were extremely happy to have us there and gave us a friendly greeting each morning. I feel this trip has allowed me to grow professionally by seeing all the different ways to set up classrooms and explore different educational and school philosophies. The trip has also helped me grow personally by learning to work as a team member with people from all different backgrounds. I look forward to returning on next year’s team with new ideas and ways to help.

What an experience!!!! :)

I am so glad that I had the opportunity to go to New Orleans to set up one of the new Kipp charter schools in Central City. Every day was a new adventure at the school from the first to the very last. The first few days were spent washing windows and wiping down cabinet surfaces. However, Wednesday to Friday was a lot more productive with "balling" chairs and desks, unboxing new library books for the library and shelving them, and cleaning up the school by taking trash out to the dumpsters. Every day was pretty exhausting, but also rewarding at the same time. As we walked through the neighborhood on the way to school, people would smile at us and say good morning to show appreciation for the hard work we were doing to get Kipp Central City School up and running. New Orleans is a great city and one that I am very eager to go back to and possibly teach. I mean what other city has live jazz every night and hardly ever snows?? :) This volunteering experience has also shown me that each and every one of us should take the time to do some volunteering and "give back" to our own communities or other communities that need our help. I really feel that we have made a tremendous impact on Kipp Central City School by all of the work and volunteer time that each of us put in. I'm hoping to join next year's team to NOLA next summer!!!

Otter Plays with Toys in Aquarium

The New Orleans Aquarium is absolutely fantastic, and the IMAX called "Hurricane on the Bayou" is not to be missed. Kennan took this video of one of the otters.

Brigid prepares to Sing

Brigid sang wonderfully for us, both solo and with Trish, and regaled us with stories of life in the fast lane with Trish as an Open Mike Rock Folk Duo!!

Trish on the axe

Part of our impromptu jam session in the breakfast room at the Bienville the second night - Trish played some licks for us!

Check Point Charlie Club

I mean, who can beat this? not only a bar, grill, music club, and game room, but a LAUNDROMAT! On Decatur Street right down from our hotel.

Martina under a rain parka - it rained every day except one, and we got drenched every single day.

Magnolia Street plaque

Magnola Street is very important in New Orleans hip hop and rap - so it was very meaningful to see this plaque right by the school.....

On the Spot Conference

It took a while to figure out how to be most effective. Spot conferences like this were frequent. Junior high principal standing behind....Karen Roth our fearless organizer weighs possibilities

Adrienne cleans a classroom

This was a common sight the first two days - we were all applying the spray bottles and wiping down every surface we could clear. Here is Adrienne in what would become one of the Kindergarten classrooms!

MLK Street on the way to the School

We walked about 8 blocks from the Streetcar to the KIPP Central City Academy, and there were many homes in a state of collapse, from the combination of poverty, the hurricane, and the flood. Wooden frame houses seeemed to fare especially poorly.

This is the hotel pool - it looks extremely elegant here, but it's smaller than it looks. We all had a lot of fun splashing around in it after a long day's work.

Volunteers Dine out the First Night

Here are some of the volunteers we joined the first evening in Nawlins...the food was great.