The Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Technology and Media Infrastructures in Louisiana and Mississippi School Districts
Robert Hancock, Anne Nauman, John Fulwiler · Multicultural education · 2007
Robert Hancock, Anne Nauman, and John Fulwiler are professors in the College of Education at Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, Louisiana. Perhaps one of the worst disasters in United States history, Hurricane Katrina is expected to have a lasting impact on the economies of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida with losses in the billions of dollars (Zwaniecki, 2005). Given that the economic foundation of the approximately 600 schools and libraries affected was far from ideal before the hurricane, the prospect of recovery for technology and media infrastructures seemed dim. The United States Department of Education appointed Henry Johnson, current Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, to examine the specific educational needs of Louisiana, Mississippi, and the Gulf region that were caused by the Katrina disaster as the department sought ways to redirect funding to meet the needs of disaster victims (United States Department of Education, 2005). Johnson was quick to allow waivers of requirements under 2416(a) of ESEA that required that 25% of Title IID monies be spent on professional development. Although this was helpful, and the United States Department of Education was to come up with several other initiatives to assist schools in the affected regions, this study indicates very strongly that technology directors and media specialists throughout the region consider the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) eRate Program to be the true hero so far in reconstructing technology infrastructures throughout the affected areas. The Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Technology and Media Infrastructures in Louisiana and Mississippi School Districts