The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has recently sucked up most of my mental and physical energy. As a Houstonian, I am truly proud of the generous response that our city has had for the evacuees. Our local city and county officials have been able to organize the enormous relief efforts that the federal officials were either too incompetent or too timid to render. An amazing coalition of businesses, civic groups, faith-based communities, and individuals has come together to care for our new neighbors. On a personal note, I am volunteering a few hours a week at a small church-based shelter, and I am part of a team that will provide meals for the residents of that shelter until everyone finds a new home.

When I get past my awe of nature's power and my anger at the inadequate, unorganized rescue efforts, I am most intrigued by how this situation is impacting our schools. 3403 evacuated students have enrolled in Houston ISD schools, and over 15,000 are in the greater Houston area. At last week's portfolio group meeting, Michaelann mentioned that she had a few new students in her art classes and that she could sense some resentment brewing. Her concern was that she and her students had worked hard on building community by setting norms together and engaging in regular teambuilding activities: How could she smoothly bring the newcomers into the classroom community? I thought, "Oh my goodness, if somebody as skillful as Michaelann is at building learning communities is worried about this--just imagine what most teachers are facing as they integrate a huge new population into their classes!"

Sure enough, today's Houston Chronicle reported this story--"Tensions overflow at Jones High School: 5 teens sent to jail after fight erupts between local students and evacuees."