Catholic schools across nation respond to Katrina

Published: 2005-09-07

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Catholic schools across the nation have opened their doors to Gulf Coast students displaced by Hurricane Katrina. In many places the schools have offered free tuition, recognizing the financial difficulties already facing the displaced families who are seeking to continue their children's education. The students are "our top priority," said Dominican Sister Glenn Anne McPhee, secretary for education of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. "Throughout the country there are efforts to bring stability to students' lives by providing them with educational opportunities so that their schooling will be as uninterrupted as possible," she said. Ursuline Sister Carol Shively, superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Shreveport, La., issued an urgent plea for volunteer teachers to help deal with the suddenly expanded student population. "We are in need of teachers who are willing to simply donate in the name of the Lord," she said. In Jackson, Miss., where an influx of hurricane refugees doubled the population in four days, St. Joseph Sister Deborah Hughes, diocesan school superintendent, announced an open-door policy for all displaced students.

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