"A priceless asset to New Orleans" Task Force Hope Commander Brig. Gen. Robert Crear spends a few moments with students from Ecole Bilingue. LA-RFO Photo. Back to Features

Ecole Bilingue, Dozier reopening returns normalcy to community, kids
Special from Public Affairs, Louisiana Recovery Field Office

In Summer 2006, two Louisiana communities were once again able to reopen their school doors to students thanks to the cooperative efforts of FEMA, the Corps of Engineers and private industry.

The heart and soul of any town or neighborhood is its schools. Parent and guardians may work in the city but their home and lifestyle revolves around the schools that their children attend. And the children are greatly served by the normalcy that school schedules bring.

On June 27, Ecole Bilingue de la Nouvelle-Orléans, located in New Orleans, held a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the opening of its new pre-kindergarten and kindergarten buildings.

Hurricane Katrina destroyed these buildings and damaged the main elementary school buildings. Repairs to the elementary school structures were finished in October and Ecole Bilingue opened its doors to their students in grades 1-5.

In addition to accepting its own students, this private, non-sectarian school opened its arms wide and embraced all the young people from other private schools in New Orleans.

The return to school helped these children return to a sense of normalcy after the chaos of Katrina. But no school can grow without new students and Ecole Bilingue is no exception.

Recognizing their need to rebuild their pre-kindergarten and kindergarten buildings, they applied to FEMA for assistance to rebuild. FEMA in turn tasked the Corps of Engineers to erect two modular buildings to fulfill Ecole Bilingue’s needs. This task was completed in approximately one month.

The completion of these classrooms gives Ecole Bilingue more than 2,680 square feet of space for children five years and younger. Each modular structure has two classrooms and each classroom having its own restroom facility. One of the modular units contains a kitchen with lunchroom. All the units are connected by covered walkways and are handicap accessible.

Brig. Gen. Robert Crear, Commander of Task Force Hope, and Mr. Pierre Lebovics, General Consul of the French Consulate in New Orleans, were the guest speakers at the ribbon cutting ceremony.

"Ecole Bilingue is a priceless asset to New Orleans," said General Crear. "We are delighted to have been partners in restoring this great link to the city’s cultural legacy, and to the culture of our great friends and allies, the people of France."

The next day saw another ribbon cutting ceremony at Dozier Elementary School in Erath, La. This school, located south of Lafayette, La., had been annihilated by Hurricane Rita. FEMA tasked the Corps to erect 28 structures to help the residents there.

The buildings consist of 24 double wide units for administration, library, special education, janitorial, nine units for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classes, and 10 for academic classrooms.

They also erected a quad modular unit to be used as the school cafeteria and three single wide units for restroom facilities. All the buildings are connected by covered walkways and are handicap accessible. More than 800 students were expected to attend classes at the new facilities in the fall of 2006.

Col. Dwight W. Pearson, LA-RFO Commander (Forward), addressed a few brief remarks to the students and their families, citing the cooperation between FEMA, the Corps of Engineers and commercial contractors.

Dozier Elementary in Vermillion parish and Ecole Bilingue in New Orleans can now begin the healing process for their children and their communities.