Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton declared natural disasters somewhere in the United States on average of about one per week between 1998 and 2005. Despite this frequency, most citizens are unprepared when a natural disaster occurs in their city or neighborhood. In particular, teachers and students can become paralyzed by the overwhelming…

"Alabama Education News" is published monthly except for June, July, and December by the Alabama Department of Education. This publication, authorized by Section 16-2-4 of the "Code of Alabama", as recompiled in 1975, is a public service of the Alabama Department of Education designed to inform citizens and educators about…

As part of a campus-wide response by the University of Pennsylvania to the large-scale disaster caused by the earthquake and tsunami in South Asia, a team of teacher educators and graduate students worked with teachers, teacher educators, and administrators in Banda Aceh, Indonesia during July of 2005 and 2006. Working in Indonesia highlighted for…

This paper details art therapy with children affected by the December 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka. Over 30,000 Sri Lankans lost their lives when the tsunami decimated coastal areas. The child survivors witnessed horrific traumatic events and the loss of loved ones, but had not been given opportunity to express their grief and pain. A 4-week art…

A graduate student in early childhood education discusses observations of his children during and after Hurricanes Rita and Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. He relates his use of responsive parenting and provides examples of his children's learning and play that emerged after the storms. He reflects upon how aspects of developmentally appropriate…

A tornado is a rotating, funnel-shaped column of air, which extends from a thunderstorm to the ground. The winds of a tornado can reach up to 480 km per hour. This is about five times faster than a car driving on a highway. Tornadoes can be almost invisible until they pick up dust and debris. This article describes an activity that stimulates…

The Earth is a powerful, active, and ever-changing planet. Earthquakes and volcanoes reshape the Earth's crust with sudden bursts of movement or with eruptions that last decades. Powerful storms develop in the swirling atmosphere, creating cumulonimbus thunderclouds, lightning storms, and even tornadoes or hurricanes. Geological features and moist…

This article reports on how the earthquake and resulting tsunami that wracked coastlines along the Indian Ocean and killed an estimated 150,000 people or more prompted generosity and classroom lessons in U.S. schools. As schools reopened after the holiday break, students and teachers were talking about the Dec. 26 tremblor that struck western…

The effects of Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, and other natural disasters will be felt by young children in the affected areas for a long time to come. This article offers tips on how to talk with children about natural disasters in order to clear up any confusion they might have, how to answer their questions with sensitivity, and how to…

Many researchers have called for educational leaders to develop a moral grounding for their work. This essay begins a discussion of how Starratt's (2005) spiraling framework of moral responsibility represents a process through which educational leaders can evolve from taking a transactional approach to problem solving, to using moral and…

In this article, the author focuses on technology use related to campus crisis and shows the impact that newer technologies have on making the world seem much smaller and united. When crises occur, such as at Virginia Tech shootings or Hurricane Katrina, students across the United States and even the world reach out to one another through new…

As technology grows more pervasive in education, the data recovery issues that school systems encounter are becoming increasingly problematic, as districts work to accommodate a range of concerns that do not encumber commercial businesses. State and federal laws often require schools to report on student populations and educational progress…

During the course of a natural disaster or similar emergency, youth may be separated from their parents or guardians. After the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes, for example, many youth were evacuated without their parents or guardians and sent to different locations, leaving the youth alone in the care of relief agencies. Other youth were on their own…

Hundreds of higher education faculty lost their jobs in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans' colleges and universities were forced to cancel fall semester classes after the city's levee system failed, submerging 80 percent of the city just weeks before the academic year began. Damage assessments began even before the deadly storm's…

As congressional Democrats declared last week that federal efforts to help Gulf Coast schools with hurricane recovery aren't working, school officials from the region hit by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year urged lawmakers to provide more regulatory flexibility and more money. On April 26, 2006, House Democrats released a report criticizing…