New Orleans community activists rally around a common concern♦children and families

Maria Alexander spends most of her mornings and afternoons outside New Orleans public schools talking with parents as they bring their children to school. Alex-ander, the education campaign director for ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), hopes to enlist these parents and others in the organization's determined fight to bring to the forefront the obstacles families face as they try to make sure their kids get a good education in the city.

The boarded up houses across the street from the Rev. Lester Shaw's church in uptown New Orleans are reflective of those that dot neighborhoods throughout the Crescent City. Some people may see these houses as an eyesore, but Shaw sees them as an opportunity. He'd like to purchase and restore these houses and make them available to New Orleaneans who were forced to evacuate the city and are now unable to return, largely due to the lack of affordable housing.

In his role as president of the New Orleans branch of the NAACP, attorney Danatus King has filed complaints with the U.S. Office of Civil Rights on behalf of students who were put on a waiting list to get a seat in a New Orleans public school. "Those returning [to New Orleans] have enough obstacles in their way without having to worry about getting their kids into school," King says.

Though the mood throughout much of the city remains somewhat overcast, there's an impressive and encouraging community activism taking place-behind the scenes and out in the open. Community organizations ranging from housing and civil rights advocates to churches, education groups and unions have found a common rallying point-New Orleans' displaced and largely underprivileged families.

The Rev. Wilmer Brown, pastor of Central Congregational Church, says many of the families returning to New Orleans schools are coming back with higher expectations than they had when they left. "Many of them had their kids in schools in low-income neighborhoods in Texas and other states that were well-equipped with state-of-the-art computer and science labs," he says. "They had never seen that before in New Orleans and are now asking: ‘Why can't we have schools like that?'"

ACORN is one of the organizations that has joined with the AFT-United Teachers of New Orleans and the national union to form the Alliance for Quality Education. Alexander says one of the most-pressing issues is what to do for the kids who are not in school now-and those who haven't been to school for almost two years.

A native of New Orleans, Alexander returned to her hometown after Katrina and since has been highly visible at the state Capitol in Baton Rouge, at New Orleans city council hearings and in the community.

When it comes to getting city and state leaders to step up to the plate on behalf of kids and families, parents hold the key-and the hammer, Alexander says. New Orleans parents have often been "invisible" in the past, and "need to be re-educated about their importance and their power," she explains. "It's an uphill battle," she admits, "but our goal is to have a core of active and involved parents at each school."

Shaw says it's not unusual to see teenagers on the streets near his church. In fact, it's quite common. What bothers him is that he's seeing them during the school day when they should be in class.

When he asks why they are not in school, Shaw says most of the kids tell him their parents don't want to send them to a school across town or that they are still waiting for the proper paperwork from the school in Texas-or elsewhere-they attended when their family was forced to leave New Orleans.

"If something isn't done, many of these kids will probably never go back to school and will eventually become a liability to society," Shaw says.

Determined to rebuild their homes and lives

ACORN's Alexander is focusing her organizing efforts on New Orleans East, where many residents have returned and are determined to rebuild their homes and their lives. "Some people were writing off that part of town, but families are coming back, and they need to know what their rights are," says Alexander, who bemoans the fact that only a handful of neighborhood schools have reopened in New Orleans East.

Shaw, whose church, Payne Memorial A.M.E., was damaged by the hurricane and is still being repaired, says that about 50 percent of his congregants have yet to return to New Orleans. "A lot of them say to me ‘Reverend, I can't come back and bring my kids into that [school] situation.' "

He's also heard complaints from parents about the subtle-but effective-screening practices employed by some of the city's recently opened charter schools. "I'm worried that they are leaving behind kids who can't meet a certain standard."

Concern about New Orleans' inability to provide for its regular public schools and its students led the NAACP national board of directors to pass a resolution calling for a moratorium on opening charter schools in the Crescent City.

The local chapter of the NAACP "will use all the advocacy tools at its disposal to help make sure the city provides a quality education to all New Orleans stu-dents," promises King, who believes the future economic and social stability of the city will depend on how well it educates all of its citizens.

"I'm hoping that the city, business and social leaders here in New Orleans understand that it's in [everyone's] best interest to have a well-educated population." Anything less, King adds, will "breed a generation that is disenchanted and angry."

Shaw remains optimistic. What elected officials need to do, the minister says, is to "stop arguing and come up with solutions without worrying about who is going to get the credit. They need to recognize that the most important thing is the children."