The first thing you notice when you turn onto West Airport Drive in Houston is the house with all the cars bearing Louisiana license tags parked on the front lawn. Then you see all the people. It’s 6:30 p.m., and most of Veronica Douglas’ 41-member extended family are relaxing at the end of another day of school, job hunting, cooking meals and dealing with the circumstances that landed them together in this moderate-sized one-story house. They are all related to Douglas, a teacher at Houston’s Community Education Partners’ alternative school and a member of the Houston Federation of Teachers (HFT), and her husband, Darryl Mitchell.

“We believe family stays together,” Douglas says, stating the obvious. The Douglas-Mitchell family fled New Orleans Aug. 28, the day before Katrina made landfall in the Big Easy. The caravan of cars was filled with family members ranging in age from an infant born Aug. 25 to a 76-year-old—and four dogs.

“We’re a wonderful family, and we take care of each other. But it took a disaster like this to bring us even closer together,” says John Adams, who worked as a floor cleaner at the Louisiana State University’s School of Dentistry.

All of the younger children in this extended family enrolled in Houston public schools, and three more enrolled in community colleges. Others are looking for work.

Nine-year-old Raheem DeSalle, a nephew of Douglas, says he is doing “good” but misses his friends. Donald DeSalle, 5, says he is getting along well, but adds, “I want to go home.”

Kenjel DeSalle, who is 11,  gets emotional when talking about her situation. “I miss my old school. I lost everything, my house, my friends,” she says. But what has really saddened her is losing her dog, which was killed by a hit-and-run driver shortly after arriving in Houston.

Douglas says the family tries to get together as a group every evening, especially to help those having trouble dealing with the situation. “We have a circle of prayer every night to motivate everyone. We all pray together,” she adds.

Schedules, curfews and a few other rules were instituted soon after the household of four became an instant hotel for 45. Donations of sleeping bags and other items from Douglas’ school and neighbors also have helped.

Douglas, who teaches students with  behavioral problems, has the kind of calm demeanor and organizational ability that allow her to handle her new circumstances, says Gayle Fallon, HFT president: “She definitely has the winning ability to handle difficult circumstances, whether it’s in the classroom or, now, at home. She’s showing amazing compassion for all of these people who lost everything.”

ER&D opens doors for Florida teacher
Former paraprofessional earns NBPTS certification

Jeanine Kiser is always looking for a better way to teach. It was the desire to improve her teaching that led her to become a part of the AFT’s Educational Research & Dissemination program (ER&D) as a trainer for Thinking Mathematics, a research-based program with a focus on the best ways to help children learn math skills. The program was developed through collaboration between the AFT and the Learning Research and Development Center (LRDC) of the University of Pittsburgh. The course helps teachers examine how children think about math and gives them practical instructional techniques.

Kiser, who teaches third-, fourth- and fifth-graders at Pierson Elementary School in Pierson, Fla., was impressed with the “nontraditional, hands-on, student-oriented” training for teachers. “It’s just the way I like to teach math.” 

The ER&D program led Kiser to another discovery. It was through ER&D that she first learned about National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification. “When I heard about certification, I knew I really had to do it,” says Kiser, a former paraprofessional who has been teaching since 1993.

Kiser became one of the first teachers in Volusia County to earn NBPTS certification. She credits the AFT and her local, the Volusia Teachers Organization, with giving her the opportunity to build on her skills as a teacher. “Without the union, I would not have gotten into the Thinking Math training,” she says.

Kiser says both her Thinking Math training and the NBPTS certification process have prompted her to look at what she does in the classroom more critically, especially the strengths and weaknesses of her lesson plans and their effect on student learning.

“I struggled with improving my own teaching techniques,” Kiser admits. But, she adds, “I took my development [as a teacher] into my hands. It’s easy to fall into the same routine of teaching year after year. Being a Thinking Math trainer keeps me on top of research. Every time I teach a course, I get a fresh look at the best ways to teach math and reach out to students.”