FSU Helping Those Affected by Katrina

Education students at Fairmont State University will spend their spring break helping middle-school students in New Orleans affected by Hurricane Katrina to catch up with their studies.

The students are enrolled in the Honors section of Education 2200, Introduction to Education, taught by Dr. Nancy C. McClure, Professor of Education and Director of the Fairmont State Center for Teaching Excellence. The group will leave for New Orleans on Saturday, March 10, and will return on Friday, March 16.

"My goal for the class is for my students to be able to answer the primary question, 'How can education better serve society?'" McClure said.

In planning for the course, she sought opportunities for her students to be involved in a worthwhile cause related directly to their field of study. As a result, her 13 students have been matched with middle-school students in New Orleans who have fallen a year or more behind in their schooling due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina. The match was made possible by New Orleans Outreach, a nonprofit organization that targets the needs of disadvantaged children attending public schools in Orleans Parish.

"My students will be tutoring these children in the areas of math, science, English/language arts and art in preparation for Louisiana's state testing," McClure said.

"Through this experience and course, students will gain an understanding of the human dimension of disaster and what it means to be connected to the world beyond their own communities. They will realize the importance of service and their own abilities to contribute to society. Students will also gain an appreciation of diversity in others ideas, lives and abilities."

Those in Fairmont and surrounding communities interested in helping have an opportunity to make an impact on the lives of school children affected by Hurricane Katrina by making a tax-deductible gift to the New Orleans Service Learning Project.

To make a tax deductible gift in support of the New Orleans Service Learning Project, make checks payable to Fairmont State Foundation, Inc. Gifts should be designated to the New Orleans Service Learning Project. Checks may be mailed to Fairmont State Foundation, Inc., 1201 Locust Ave., Fairmont, WV 26554.

For more information about the trip, call McClure at (304) 367-4508 or e-mail her at nmcclure@fairmontstate.edu.