Angie Junior High School Is First To Receive Portable Classrooms
Release Date: November 15, 2005
Release Number: 1603-156
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BATON ROUGE, La. -- Students and teachers of Angie Junior High School in Angie, Louisiana, will be among the first in the state to attend class in portable rooms. To commemorate the arrival of the four modular buildings, disaster-recovery officials and representatives of the school held a ribbon-cutting ceremony today.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requested the shipment of the portable classrooms and delivered them to the State of Louisiana, in Washington Parish, to provide an alternative, safe space for students to learn.
“Hurricane Katrina left a dire need in Louisiana when so many schools were damaged and destroyed,” said Scott Wells, deputy federal coordinating officer for the Louisiana disaster recovery. “To get life back to normal, children have to be able to return to school. Routines are important in times like these. These units will provide students of Angie Junior High School with a safe place to learn.”
The school received significant damage when Hurricane Katrina made landfall near the Mississippi/Louisiana state line on Aug. 29, and moved northward through Washington Parish.
Hurricane force winds from Katrina knocked a large tree onto the roof of a permanent four-classroom building. It caused severe damage and forced officials to seek alternative locations to teach.
The school temporarily held classes in large closets and other make-shift areas that were not satisfactory as long-term classroom space. These modular buildings, totaling approximately 3,000 square feet, provide more space, ADA accessibility and computer/internet accessibility until repairs can be made to the permanent building.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers oversaw site preparation for and installation of basic services in the portable units, which will accommodate up to 120 students once fully completed. The Corps is active in similar projects all around the state.
“We are very happy to be able to help students return to school and begin the long road back to normalcy,” said Col. Charles Smithers, commander of the Corps’ Louisiana Recovery Field Office. “This is the first of many projects like this that FEMA has directed us to undertake. We are looking forward to many more success stories like this one.”
FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
The Army Corps of Engineers, in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, provides disaster response assistance to the nation, working in concert with 30 federal departments, as well as, state and local governments.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 15-Nov-2005 15:21:04