September 28, 2006 :: No. 29

When Hurricane Katrina ripped through New Orleans, all the portable classrooms at Lake Forest Montessori School flooded, floated miles away, flipped over and crashed.
          
“We lost everything,” said Mardele S. Early, principal of the school, which was completely destroyed. “The whole area was devastated. I lost my home and all the teachers lost their homes, but we got together over the summer and opened Lake Forest Elementary Charter School this fall with an enrollment of 350 students.”
          
While the school site, which is being leased from the state of Louisiana, comes with buildings and some tables and chairs, there is no library. Books and classroom supplies are badly needed, Mardele said.
          
That’s why Cal State Fullerton’s Reading Department set up a fundraising and book donation campaign. About $1,500 has been raised so far.
          
“We are deeply concerned about the children and schools impacted by the hurricane,” said JoAnn Carter-Wells, professor of reading. “They are in dire need.”
          
She said the money raised will buy books for the schools. Other school supplies will be donated, as well as copies of the booklet “Helping Children Deal With Stress Through Literature and Literacy Activities” by Barbara Clark, a lecturer in the Reading Department; Janice Crick, assistant professor of reading; and Fullerton resident Julie Petersen, a graduate assistant majoring in education with a concentration in reading.
          
“We are eternally grateful,” said Early. “What we’ve learned living through the hurricane and its aftermath is that people in America really do care. The books and supplies from Cal State Fullerton will be a huge help.”
          
Interested donors may send checks to Literacy Project Katrina, c/o Reading Department, Room 190 of the Education-Classroom Building, P.O. Box 6868, Fullerton, CA 92834-6868.

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