Major Sources of Influence in the Rebuilding of New Orleans
Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster that caused major damage to New Orleans. The Hurricane destroyed the city. “The storm also exposed historic tensions of race and class, and it produced deep mistrust of public officials and institutions” (Lukensmeyer, 2007). The whole city was flooded.
The policy makers already had their minds made up on how they were going to rebuild Katrina. One of the first things was education. “New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin recognized that rebuilding the city of New Orleans would be a daunting task; one that he believed would require commitment from every level of government as well as contributions from the private sector” (Torregano and Shannon, 2009). Mayor Nagin had to get political leaders to his city to see the damage and to hear his vision for the city. The mayor invited everyone he could to the city following hurricane Katrina. He created Bring New Orleans
Back (BNOB) and created the BNOB Commission (Torregano and Shannon, 2009). He wanted people who were willing to help rebuild New Orleans. The goal of BNOB was to create ideas and plans to rebuild New Orleans. “Nagin appointed an overall steering committee and designated subcommittees for education, urban planning, land use, culture, economic development, government effectiveness and health and social services” (Torregano and Shannon, 2009). The governor of Louisiana, the mayor 0f New Orleans and, Louisiana legislature had the power and the influence to change New Orleans Education system. New Orleans school system has been struggling for years. According to Torregano and Shannon, “prior to Katrina, New Orleans Public Schools has been characterized as one of the most segregated and stratified systems you can see in America” (as cited in Tillotson, 2006, p.71). “In the weeks following Katrina, Governor Kathleen Blanco called a special session of the Louisiana legislature to consider the damage to New Orleans, with education as a top priority” (Torregano
The policy makers already had their minds made up on how they were going to rebuild Katrina. One of the first things was education. “New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin recognized that rebuilding the city of New Orleans would be a daunting task; one that he believed would require commitment from every level of government as well as contributions from the private sector” (Torregano and Shannon, 2009). Mayor Nagin had to get political leaders to his city to see the damage and to hear his vision for the city. The mayor invited everyone he could to the city following hurricane Katrina. He created Bring New Orleans
Back (BNOB) and created the BNOB Commission (Torregano and Shannon, 2009). He wanted people who were willing to help rebuild New Orleans. The goal of BNOB was to create ideas and plans to rebuild New Orleans. “Nagin appointed an overall steering committee and designated subcommittees for education, urban planning, land use, culture, economic development, government effectiveness and health and social services” (Torregano and Shannon, 2009). The governor of Louisiana, the mayor 0f New Orleans and, Louisiana legislature had the power and the influence to change New Orleans Education system. New Orleans school system has been struggling for years. According to Torregano and Shannon, “prior to Katrina, New Orleans Public Schools has been characterized as one of the most segregated and stratified systems you can see in America” (as cited in Tillotson, 2006, p.71). “In the weeks following Katrina, Governor Kathleen Blanco called a special session of the Louisiana legislature to consider the damage to New Orleans, with education as a top priority” (Torregano
References: Lukensmeyer, C.J. (2007). Large-scale citizen engagement and the rebuilding of New Orleans: A case Study. National Civic Review, 96(3), 3-15. doi:10.1002/ncr.182 Tillotson, D. (2006). What 's next for New Orleans? The High School Journal, 90(2), 69-74. Torregano, M., & Shannon, P. (2009). Educational Greenfield: A Critical Policy Analysis to Transform New Orleans Public Schools. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, 7(1), 320-340