Elizabeth says goodbye to Sugarcane Academy.
It all started a few days after the hurricane in New Iberia, LA. A few displaced parents met with a displaced teacher to talk about putting a school together. It would be a school that was like their public school back home in New Orleans. I just sort of sat on the periphery of the discussions. I was librarian at that school for 12 years but had recently moved to a high school library. I did not know the families who wanted to form this school in exile very well, but we shared a basic philosophy about education.
Two weeks after the hurricane Sugarcane Academy opened its doors to a handful of students with one volunteer teacher and a very part time librarian/storyteller. I would walk down E. Main Street to the public library every day to get books to read to the students. The Iberia Parish librarians would only let me have two books at a time. I would beg for a third, and they usually gave in after I promised never to do it again. The next day I would be there and again I’d be begging for three books. This went on for two weeks. Then Hurricane Rita blew in, and we fled New Iberia. The school continued with more volunteer teachers and more students but without me.
Finally, New Orleans opened its doors to the residents. The teachers, students and parents of Sugarcane wanted to go home, but there were no public schools open. So this temporary school was moved. A new home was found on the campus of Loyola University. Eleven teachers joined the ranks. Now that I was home, I could rejoin the faculty. Sixty-one students “registered” for the five week session. I was to work two half days a week reading stories and sharing my love of literature with the kids.
It was fun. There weren’t a whole lot of rules. Everyone shared. There wasn’t much in the way of administration, but that was okay. We had a routine. The students were learning. We had begun in our own small way to rebuild New Orleans.
This week I return to the high school where I use to work. I won’t be seeing the elementary age students, won’t be reading picture books anymore, won’t be singing silly songs anymore, and won’t get to revel in the fact that we made a school happen. I think that I will miss it.
