Sisters DeAsya and Xandrea Ross and their cousin Rasheed Ross lost their home in New Orleans, all their belongings and their school to Hurricane Katrina. They and their families are now staying with relatives in Richmond and trying to adjust to life in California. But one thing has helped smooth the way - the warm welcome they've received at Washington Elementary School in West Contra Costa County.

 

"We lost everything - everything is under water," says Varanise Ross, the mother of the two girls. "But these are material things that can be replaced. I'm so glad we all made it out as a family."

 

Although the children were worried about starting over again in a new school, everyone - teachers and students - has gone out of their way to be kind. "I'm so grateful they accepted us into the school, and everyone there really has made us feel welcome."

 

When Anne Brockhoff, a member of United Teachers of Richmond, learned that DeAsya would be joining her fifth/sixth-grade combination class, she told her students to welcome the newcomer and to be the "warm, wonderful class that you are." They rose to the challenge. DeAsya, who says she feels right at home, recently wrote her teacher a letter expressing feelings she can't yet discuss:

 

"Dear Mrs. Brockhoff: Thank you for treating me so nicely. It's been very hard for me when people ask me about Hurricane Katrina. It makes me want to cry. But I don't because I'm strong again. I have everything I could possibly need and want. Thank you. Love, DeAsya."

 

Sixth-grade teacher Deborah Engel calls Xandrea a "wonderful addition" to her class, and was pleased to see the newcomer take a leadership role in the school's fundraising efforts to benefit Hurricane Katrina victims. Students at the urban Title I school tirelessly collect pennies, nickels and dimes during recess and lunchtime.

 

Second-grade teacher Nancy Zapparelli says having a student like Rasheed in her class has helped foster a nurturing spirit in her students and made them feel like they can make a difference by helping others. "Students have been absolutely welcoming and are always sitting next to him and playing with him at recess."

 

"It's been good here; everybody has been really nice," Xandrea says with a shy smile. She says she has made many new friends in class and through fundraising on the playground.

 

"You see these kids out at recess with friends they seem comfortable with, laughing and smiling," says Engel. "That doesn't mean they've had an opportunity to work through anything that has happened to them. But you can tell these kids have had a wonderful value system at home that has helped them make this transition."

 

Hurricane Katrina forced at least 372,000 schoolchildren to leave the Gulf Coast and scores of evacuees have enrolled in public schools throughout California. To ease their entry, many of the schools are making it as painless as possible by waiving requirements for transcripts, birth records and proof of immunizations. Some schools are providing counseling services to help students cope with loss and grief. Some California State University campuses - including CSU East Bay - have set aside rooms for students attending Gulf Coast campuses closed due to the storm.

 

Second-grader Jourdan Bournes has fit right in at Mary Tsukamoto Elementary School in Sacramento, says her teacher Diana Van De Pol, a member of the Elk Grove Teachers Association. "One of my students brought her a doll on the second day she was here, which was her birthday. I don't think it was even meant to be a birthday present; it was a gift that said 'Welcome to our classroom and we're sorry you're having a hard time.' On her birthday, her mother brought cupcakes and a goody bag for each kid in the class. And this is from someone who has lost everything. On the third day, two little girls were walking around the playground with her, holding her hand. It makes you want to cry."

 

"I told the kids to act like she is here for good, whether she stays six weeks or until the end of the school year," says Van De Pol. "We are not looking at this as anything temporary." The family is staying with a relative and has seen satellite photos of their storm-ravaged home.

 

"Jourdan has a very wonderful teacher, and between the teacher and the kids, it's made all the difference in the world," says her father, Sidney Bournes. "She's ordinarily a very shy child who takes a while to warm up to new places and new things. By the second day here, she was tickled pink to be here."

 

Having a hurricane evacuee join her classroom has been a benefit for her entire classroom, says Van De Pol. "It's been eye-opening. My students now have an understanding that these things can happen to anybody. It just so happened that we were studying kindness when Jourdan joined us, and this has been a wonderful example of kindness in the classroom."

 

Kindness has extended outside of her classroom. The elementary school raised a total of $3,500 to benefit hurricane victims, and recently presented the donation to the American Red Cross at a school assembly. During the assembly, Jourdan's mother also made a presentation, thanking the school for its generosity.

 

Durham High School near Chico has rolled out the welcome mat to hurricane evacuee Matt Ely, 17, who is staying with a relative. His ROP teacher Greg Blake recalls that he entered his classroom like any other new student. "I asked him about himself and where he was from and he said 'New Orleans'," he recalls. "I asked him a few questions and he walked right up to the whiteboard and explained New Orleans in relation to Lake Pontchartrain, exactly how the flooding occurred, and gave us a little education in what went on. During the hurricane, he and his family were in the Hyatt Hotel, corralled into the conference rooms where windows could not be blown out. He has fit right in here and has a really nice attitude."

 

"I like this school and Mr. Blake and all of the teachers," says Ely. "All of them have said that if I need anything or even need to talk, they are here for me and will help me out. That's a good feeling."

 

"If he gets cold, he'll have 20 coats here," adds Blake, a member of the Durham Unified Teachers Association. "As far as being on his own here - well, that's not going to happen."

 

In Moreno Valley, 27 Hurricane Katrina evacuees have enrolled in the district, says Katherine Underwood, president of the Moreno Valley Educators Association. MVEA members worked in conjunction with the district, the local Rotary Club and the chamber of commerce to give the students backpacks filled with school supplies including binders, marking pens and crayons. "It's almost overwhelming how much people are willing to give," she says. "And the association has set funds aside in case anybody needs anything and we can be of assistance."

 

The California spirit is a reflection of what is happening nationwide in school communities. NEA has provided $500,000 in direct aid to those affected by Hurricane Katrina. It has also created an "Adopt a School" program to match donors with schools and classrooms in need of assistance. The funds provided by NEA will help displaced students buy school supplies, textbooks, and in some cases clothes.

 

In addition to the goal of raising $1 million in aid, NEA has set up a toll-free number [(866) 247-2239] for donations and is accepting credit card donations on its website. Those who want to contribute by check should make it out to NEA HIN/Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund and send it to the NEA HIN/Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund, Suite 216, 1201 16th St. NW, Washington, DC 20036. All of the money raised will go directly to those in need.