Jackie Cockerham spent a total of 32 years in the classroom as a public school teacher in New Orleans. But in December 2005, just months after Hurricane Katrina ripped through parts of the Gulf Coast, Cockerham was fired unceremoniously with no notice and no “thank-you-for-your-service.”

"Prior to [hurricane] Katrina, we were highly qualified, certified teachers serving the children of New Orleans,” Cockerham said. “[School officials] didn’t think enough of us to keep us, and now our children are without teachers.”

Cockerham was one of nearly 8,000 teachers and other school employees who lost—not only their homes—but their jobs, their health insurance and any sense of security after the storm.

As a result of the mass firings, city and state education officials continue to struggle to find teachers and school employees to staff classrooms as students return home.

But Hurricane Katrina is not the real culprit behind the teacher shortage and the current state of public education in New Orleans, many believe.

Act of God or Man?

When Hurricane Katrina swept New Orleans in August 2005, the world was riveted to images on television of thousands of people stranded in flooded communities—some waiting on rooftops to be rescued and others languishing for days in overcrowded, makeshift evacuation centers.

At the same time, the lives of thousands of New Orleans teachers and other school employees were being torn apart as a result of a man-made disaster that was unfolding with little notice.

“The storm was used as an opportunity to conduct an experiment in public education at the expense of our community, our students, and our teachers and school employees,” said Dr. Brenda Mitchell, president of the United Teachers of New Orleans (UTNO). UTNO is the union that has represented teachers and other school employees in New Orleans for more than 70 years.

Immediately after the storm, Dr. Mitchell, other UTNO staff members and representatives from the union’s national organization—the American Federation of Teachers—traveled to Baton Rouge, Houston and other cities across the nation to locate members who had been displaced by the storm.

“When our members were fired so casually, we received a major outpouring of generosity from union brothers and sisters from other AFT locals,” Dr. Mitchell said. “They contributed millions of dollars so that AFT could provide $500 in assistance to the thousands of UTNO members who were without a job.”

“It is heartening to know that so many others across the country have expressed their care and concern for the people in Louisiana,” wrote Mona K. Heinze, an UTNO member who received cash assistance in December 2005 following Hurricane Katrina. “We are now struggling to rebuild our lives, and the generous donation from the AFT is greatly appreciated.”

In addition to providing cash assistance to members affected by the storm, UTNO filed lawsuits pressuring the city to reopen schools and challenging the legality of the dismissals of the teachers and school employees.

Firing thousands of teachers and school employees wasn’t the only shake-up in New Orleans schools after the storm.

In a move to redesign public education, officials carved the city’s public school system into multiple districts—some run directly by the state, others by the city and many operated by independent charter school entities—creating a maze for parents and students to navigate.

Charter schools were to “form the backbone of the educational renaissance that [New Orleans] will soon experience,” U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana) said during the 2006 National Charter Schools Conference.

Schools in post-Katrina New Orleans would become a “center of innovation and excellence,” Senator Landrieu promised.

But nearly two years after the storm, the city’s public schools continue to be at the center of a growing debate over how best to deliver a high-quality education to all New Orleans children.

Unfortunately, the voice that should be heard and heeded—that of the city’s teachers and school employees—has been all but silenced and ignored.

“We, the teachers, believe we can make our schools better if we all work together,” said Jim Randels, a veteran New Orleans teacher. Randels, who has been rehired, teaches at McMain and Douglass high schools.

For more than 30 years, New Orleans public schools maintained a partnership and collaborative relationship with its teachers and school employees through collective bargaining and union representation through the United Teachers of New Orleans. Together, the Orleans Parish school district and UTNO developed policies to promote successful learning. The union contract contained provisions limiting class sizes for more effective learning, clarifying student discipline procedures, and addressing health and safety issues in the classroom.

“UTNO always has been a valuable part of this community,” Dr. Mitchell said. “We have sponsored reading programs for students using union funds, professional development for staff, and other initiatives to enhance student learning.”

New Orleans City Councilmember Cynthia Hedge-Morrell reminded Orleans Parish School Board members at its meeting last April that the union and its members have been a positive influence in public education.

“There was a lot of good that this school district and UTNO did together,” Hedge-Morrell said. What’s more, she said, teachers, school employees and the union have a vital role to play in rebuilding the city.

“We can’t begin to rebuild out city, our neighborhoods and our schools without our teachers and other school employees,” Hedge-Morrell said. “That’s our tax base. That’s our middle class. That’s our homeowners.”

Neighborhood schools, teachers and other school employees are what make a community thrive, she said.

“I think we have an opportunity of a lifetime to vastly improve our schools, and the union is a way to do just that,” said Kimberly Hakes, a teacher at Franklin Elementary School. “We came back because we really want better schools for the students.

“As experienced teachers, we know what’s needed,” Hakes continued. “That’s why we should be heard.”

A majority of New Orleans teachers and school employees had demonstrated, through a card-signing campaign, that they want union representation and a voice in their working conditions and the education policies affecting students.

“It’s really disturbing that elected officials haven’t honored the fact that 70 percent of teachers and school employees have said they want a chance to open discussions with the school board,” says Jim Randels, executive board member of UTNO. “The school board has some problems with democracy.”

“We, the teachers and school employees of UTNO, want our organization to be a catalyst to generate an open dialogue—one that includes parents, community members, teachers and school employees—on how we can provide a quality education to all New Orleans children,” Dr. Mitchell said.

UTNO Today

UTNO also continues to be not only a voice for teachers but a voice for educational equity across school systems even as we reorganize. Through the National Coalition for Quality Education in New Orleans (NCQENO), we have been working with educational experts from around the country to identify solutions that work for urban, African-American districts like ours.

June’s NCQENO conference brought together nationally renowned experts including Raynard Sanders of the Algebra Project and Vanguard Foundation, Dr. Lisa Delpit of Florida International University, Dr. Theresa Perry, Professor of Africana Studies and Education at Simmons College, and Dr. Charles Payne of Duke University, as well as New Orleans’ own Kalamu Ya Salaam of Students at the Center. These experts met with and New Orleans public school teachers to discuss ways to improve our public schools, as the beginning of an ongoing relationship to bring resources and new innovations.

“These scholars have committed personally to serve as resources to support and improve the educational process for African-American and poor children,” said Linda Stelly, AFT’s associate director for educational issues.

UTNO also remains a place where teachers can come for professional development and assistance. In June our Center for Professional Growth and Development on Paris Avenue reopened, and in July dozens of UTNO members met with their colleagues from other AFT locals around the country for four days of discussing ways to create better classroom learning environments for children.

Because we can’t do any of this alone. We need the help of everyone- including parents, community members and community organizations. We are working with our community partners at ACORN, Rainbow-PUSH Coalition, the NAACP, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and other organizations to hold elected leaders accountable, and in June we held a town hall meeting with New Orleans’ representatives to the state of Louisiana to talk about progress not only for our schools but also in progress in affordable housing, public health and other public services.

We have also had the help of our union brothers and sisters from other cities. In June and July dozens of teachers from around the country came to New Orleans to participate in the American Federation of Teachers’ Union Summer Program, where they painted and repaired schools, built houses and tutored children.

These volunteers brought with them skills, time, energy and enthusiasm to our damaged city, and they took back not only memories but a story that the rest of the nation is not hearing.

“People need to do this for themselves and to take the word back”, said instructional aide and CFT member Linda Olsen from Pacifica, California, who came down for two weeks in June. Ms. Olson painted the halls in McMain High School and built houses with Habitat for Humanity, but says that she feels it is just as important to tell people in California what is going on in New Orleans. “I thought everything was fine because I saw the ads on TV to come down,” said Ms. Olsen, “And it’s not.”

United Teachers of New Orleans continues to grow, one member at a time. As of the last vote of the Orleans Parish School Board we are only one vote away from a restoration of our collective bargaining rights. We want to thank all of the parents, community members and community organizations who are making all of this possible. Truly we are better together.