- 372,000 Gulf State schoolchildren were displaced by Hurricane Katrina
- 50,000 students were enrolled in Catholic schools operated by the Archdiocese of New Orleans when Katrina hit
- 61,000 students were enrolled in private schools in the four Louisiana parishes most affected by Katrina
- 33 percent of students in those four parishes were enrolled in private schools
- 11 percent of students nationwide are enrolled in private schools
- 200,000 private school students throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama were displaced by Katrina
- 489 Louisiana schools were forced to close by Katrina
- 226 Mississippi schools were forced to close by Katrina
- 30 Mississippi schools were completely destroyed by Katrina
- 700 schools were closed by Katrina and Rita in Louisiana and Mississippi
- 73,000 college students were displaced by Katrina and Rita
- $4,000 per child has been proposed as the voucher amount in a bill sponsored by Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and David Vitter (R-LA) to provide educational aid to schools affected by the Katrina and Rita
- $7,500 has been proposed by the Bush administration for each displaced family preferring to send their children to private or religious schools
- 126 public schools operate in New Orleans
- 73 public schools in New Orleans are currently failing the state’s educational accountability standards. New Orleans was ranked the state’s lowest-performing district before the storm.
- 96 percent of New Orleans high schoolers scored below basic in reading on the Graduation Exit Exam (GEE) in 2004
- 94 percent of New Orleans high schoolers scored below basic in math on the GEE test in 2004
- $69 million in Title I funds weren’t properly accounted for in a 2005 federal audit of the New Orleans school system
- 96 percent of New Orleans public school students are black
- 50 percent of New Orleans public school students graduate from high school
- 1,000 students in New Orleans were using vouchers to attend private preschools before Katrina
- $62 billion was allocated for emergency relief by Congress by mid-September
- $2.8 billion would be needed to give each displaced child a $7,500 school voucher
- 5,700 Hurricane Katrina evacuees are currently being educated in the Houston Independent School District
- 305 schools are part of the Houston Independent School District
Source: Compiled by School Reform News from various news sources. School Reform News reporter Connie Sadowski contributed to this report.
