We have made a difference! 

One year ago, Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of many communities along the Gulf Coast left its impact on schools, families and businesses.  The Actuarial Foundation left its impact too, one of generosity and assistance for rebuilding schools’ educational resources.   Thanks to all who responded to this call for support in providing 37 schools with funding totaling over $117,000 to rebuild their math classrooms. 

On behalf of the students, math teachers and school administrators working together to rebuild their academic communities – We thank you.

The Actuarial Foundation thanks all those who have contributed to this most worthwhile effort.  A special note of thanks is extended to Milliman Inc. for jumpstarting this effort with a $10,000 contribution.   DONOR ROSTER

See for yourself how your contributions to the Rebuild Math Classrooms initiative impacted the rebuilding efforts of schools along the Gulf Coast. VIEW FOOTAGE.

These schools have benefited from your generosity:

 Bayou Lacombe Middle School, Lacombe, LA
Located on the northern edge of Lake Pontchartrain, Lacombe was heavily damaged by hurricane Katrina and many homes were destroyed.  One teacher from Bayou Lacombe Middle School lost her home and the newly acquired curriculum unit’s package for the school’s Math Investigations program.  Funding from “Rebuild Math Classrooms” replaced the destroyed Math Investigations materials.

“Thank you so very much for your support during this time of rebuilding.  Without the support of our fellow countrymen, we would never have been able to start the school year again.”

Carolyn M. Jones
Resource Teacher

Belle Chasse Middle School, Belle Chasse, LA
Of the eight schools in Plaquemines Parish, five were devastated. Belle Chasse received extensive damage from roofs that were blown off, water and debris damage to the 6th and 8th grade wings and mold growth resulting in all teaching materials being discarded and all classroom calculators. You can view damage at www.ppsb.org. Funding from “Rebuild Math Classrooms” replaced Belle Chasse’s lost calculators.

“Thank you VERY much for your kindness and generosity. This is really going to help us. Our superintendent needs to focus on retaining as many teachers as possible, so funds for extra supplies are scarce.”

Ronald Bateman
Assistant Principal
  
Breaux Bridge High School, Breaux Bridge, LA
Breaux Bridge itself was spared from the storms but New Orleans was devastated.  Breaux Bridge High School has enrolled over 50 students from the New Orleans area and anticipates these students remaining for the rest of the year.  Breaux Bridge received funding for calculators and math booklets for these new students.

“As principal of Breaux Bridge High School, a rural school located in St. Martin Parish, LA, I wish to thank you in advance for your care and concern.  I thank God that there are people and organizations such as you who are looking out to assist our educational system and any other system that is in need.  Just your care and concern is a reward in itself.  God Bless all of you!”

Ronnie J. Dore
Principal

Brock Elementary School, Slidell, LA
During Hurricane Katrina, Brock received several feet of water throughout the building. Many portable buildings were moved from the concrete slab they were sitting on. School personnel were not allowed in the building to remove materials and by the time they could enter, materials were water-soaked and moldy. The Foundation was able to provide the school with calculator kits.

Fontainebleau High School, Mandeville, LA
Fontainebleau High School is located in St. Tammany Parish in southeastern Louisiana. This area was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina with the eye of the storm passing over the eastern part of the Parish. When our school reopened, we took in over 250 displaced students who lost everything in the hurricane. This stretched resources that were already under pressure for both the school and students and their families. Many math resources have not been purchased as the school system has been stretched financially with the cost of the impact of the hurricane repair to the building. The need for calculators, especially in a high school setting, is so critical to the math department's efforts to continue to provide the same educational opportunities for all students. The Foundation was able to grant their request for calculators to accommodate their additional students.

Gulfhaven Christian School, Houston, TX
Gulfhaven opened its doors to 23 students from New Orleans.  To provide math education support to these new students Gulfhaven is establishing a Resource Math Room.  The resource room will be equipped with calculators, math games, manipulatives and software to benefit students from kindergarten to grade eight.

Gulfport School District, Gulfport, MS

The Gulfport School District sustained a tremendous financial blow due to Hurricane Katrina. The majority of their tax base was destroyed. Over 30,000 families lost homes in the county alone. Included in their losses were textbooks, calculators-both schools and students, and teaching materials of all kinds. The items funded are being distributed in a manner that allows teachers to share at particular building sites. Ten schools in the Gulfport School District are benefiting from the Foundation’s contribution.

John James Audubon Elementary School, Kenner, LA
Audubon Elementary is located in the Greater New Orleans area. Audubon was flooded during Katrina losing furniture, materials, supplies, software and equipment. Most of the teachers lost personal teaching materials as well. As a result of the flooding, much of the math software, materials and manipulatives were lost or damaged. In order for Audubon students to master the math skills being taught, math materials need to be replaced as soon as possible. Audubon employees and volunteers in the community worked diligently to clean out the school to get it ready for students. John James Audubon Elementary reopened on October 3.

“Thank you so much for your effort which has provided such a generous donation to the students and staff of Audubon Elementary after the hurricane emergency. We will use your funds to replace the many math resources lost and/or damaged. It means so much to our children and teachers to know that others are willing to help us replace the many things damaged by the hurricane. We appreciate your support and help at this time of crisis. Your assistance will help the students of Audubon. The entire Audubon community is grateful for your donation.”

Caroline Roques, Principal
John James Audubon Elementary School

Long Beach High School, Long Beach, MS
Long Beach High School is just 1 mile north of the beach on the Mississippi sound. LBHS suffered over $10 million in damages with 85% of its district employees living with friends and relatives as they wait for FEMA trailers or other housing to become available. The city of Long Beach lost close to 40% of its homes and 75% of its business. At the high school, the biggest concern in math classes is having the funding to repair and/or replace lost and broken calculators. Math teachers use graphing calculators every day. Long Beach High School received funding from the Foundation and serveral new graphing and scientific calculators through the generosity of Leif Associates, Denver, Colorado.

“Long Beach High School would like to express our appreciation to you for the donation of calculators. Our school district, employees and students’ families all suffered great losses from Hurricane Katrina and have been very moved by all the help we have received as we begin to rebuild. With sincere gratitude.”

Anna McIntyre, Math Department Chair
Long Beach High School

North Gulfport 7th & 8th Grade Middle School
Gulfport, MS

North Gulfport Middle School is located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and received damage from Hurricane Katrina. Classrooms were severely damaged from the storm and many textbooks and resources lost. The process to replace resources has been slow and damages to buildings have been their top priority. A request for calculators was made to aid in their daily curriculum instruction as well as state assessment testing. Although their school has approximately 1000 students, North Gulfport requested and was provided funding for calculators to cover one full grade level to also be shared with other grades.

Our Lady Academy, Bay St. Louis, MS
Our Lady Academy (OLA) is the only all-girls school in the state of Mississippi. The school lost the entire contents of the school and several buildings were severely damaged from Hurricane Katrina. Following the storm, OLA temporarily combined with a neighboring school. It is hoped that OLA will be able to fully reopen in August, 2006.

“Thank you so much for your very generous donation. There are no words that can express how much your contribution is appreciated for math resources lost in Hurricane Katrina. With the help of caring people such as you, there is hope for rebuilding our school even better than it was before. Thank you again for your special gift.”

Sr. Jacqueline Howard
Principal

Pascagoula School District, Pascagoula, MS
Several schools in the Pascagoula School District were damaged during hurricane Katrina. Other schools in the district welcomed students from damaged schools. Five schools in the district requested funding for calculators and math manipulatives. The “Rebuild Math Classrooms” effort provided funding to:

• Colmer Middle School, Pascagoula, MS
• Gautier High School, Gautier, MS
• Gautier Middle School, Gautier, MS
• Pascagoula High School, Pascagoula, MS
• Trent Lott Middle School, Pascagoula, MS

"Your recent contribution for calculators was a huge boost to our school. Your gift is an affirmation of the kindness and humanity that still exists in this world. Again, thank you for your generosity in helping our school rebuild following such a devastating disaster."

Bernard Rogers, Principal
Gautier High School

“On behalf of my school, I would like to thank you for your generosity in our time of need. We were overwhelmed by the funds that were sent to purchase math resources for our school. The following items were purchased: probability kit, calculator teacher kit, overhead calculator, geoboard kits, and transparent geoboards. We are on our way to recovery, due to your generosity and support.”

Debra Sivori, Principal
Trent Lott Middle School

Pass Christian High & Middle Schools, Pass Christian, MS
Both schools were devastated by hurricane Katrina.  The high school’s math department was virtually washed away and there’s little left of the middle school.  Both schools are in temporary housing and are being rebuilt.    The Foundation replaced a variety of math manipulatives for the middle school and replaced 300 graphing and scientific calculators for the high school.  Since both schools now share space, both the middle and high school students are benefiting from the calculators.

“We, the math department at Pass Christian High School, are just overwhelmed with the generous offer from your organization to replace our calculators. You cannot imagine how excited we are to know that we can continue teaching our math curriculum with calculators just like we did before the storm.  Eighty percent of our students lost everything they own.  Anything that is replaced whether it’s a personal or school related item is progress toward normalcy for our students which they so badly want and need.”

Kathleen Dudenbostel
Math Teacher

Pass Christian High School	mobile classroom	Mobile Pass Christian High School
	Pass Christian Middle School

"On behalf of the Pass Christian Public School District, we would like to thank you for your generosity and assistance in helping us reopen our schools. You have listed our spirits and lightened our burden through your kindness. During this difficult time, we are humbled by the acts of compassion that you and others have shown to us. Please know we will forever be grateful to you for your thoughtful donation."  

Sue Matheson
Ed.D., Superintendent

“Some people pass through this world and leave it just as they found it. But people like you take the time to do special things that make the world more beautiful. Thank you for your generous donation and the kindness you have shown to us, and for making a difference in the lives of our children and our community.”

Board of Trustees and Administration of the Pass Christian School District

Pope John Paul II Catholic High School, Slidell, LA
Pope John Paul II High School reopened on September 19, after hurricane Katrina swept through the area. Since reopening the school has welcomed over 100 new students, increasing enrollment by one-third. This increase in class size put a strain on the school’s calculator inventory. The Foundation was able to provide funding to purchase an additional 36 calculators for a section of Advanced Math students.

“On behalf of the PJP community, thank you for your generosity and support of our efforts to provide a quality education for our students in these unusual circumstances. Your donation for the purchase of graphing calculators has allowed us to honor our commitment to academic excellence. PJP is truly grateful for the support you have extended to our students.”

Annemarie Furphy and Neil Gremillion
Mathematics Department Chair

Poplarville Lower Elementary School, Poplarville, MS

Poplarville is located in Pearl River County in south Mississippi, 60 miles north of the Gulf Coast. The school had severe roof damage, causing water damage in the classrooms and hallways. Besides losing materials for existing students, Poplarville took in over 300 displaced new students. Funding was provided to replace math materials, such as counting boxes, number puzzles, graphing skill sets, and various math games.

“Thank you so much for the generous check your organization sent. This gift will be very helpful in our rebuilding and recovery efforts of our math programs in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Life in Poplarville is finding some form of normalcy again. It is not, however, the normalcy we knew. As the clean-up efforts continue, the students are once again beginning to be able to focus on being kids. They can spend their time on schoolwork and play without worrying about where their next meal will come from. Poplarville is a small, poor rural area and the storm definitely made the situation more critical. Our young people and our teachers have been faced with trials and situations that may take a lifetime to deal with and overcome. As we work through the healing process, your organization will remain in our gratitude.

Debra Smith, RN
LIFP School Health Coordinator

Runnels School, Baton Rouge, LA
While the Baton Rouge area received minimal damage from both hurricanes, New Orleans was not so fortunate.  Runnels School enrolled 100 students from the New Orleans area.  The influx of students put a strain on the schools computer class resources.  Milliman Inc. provided two laptop computers to the school to expand the computer classrooms. 

“We have benefited greatly by having these students at our school.  In addition to just being great kids, their courage and adaptability have been examples for us all.”

Rebecca Morrison
Director of Curriculum and Instruction
Math Instructor

Sabine Pass School, Sabine Pass, TX
Sabine Pass is located in Jefferson County on the plains of the Texas gulf coast in the southeastern part of the state. During the night and through early morning of September 24, 2005, Sabine Pass took a direct hit from the high winds and rain of Hurricane Rita. Sabine Pass School sustained wind and water damage in every classroom. The school district lost much of its educational resources. Due to the amount of damages, and everything else the community and school district had to deal with, teachers had to work with what was available to them and did not want to burden administration with what was considered small items, like calculators, although a necessary learning tool in today's curriculum. The Foundation was able to provide Sabine Pass with funding to purchase calculators and projection equipment

"On behalf of Sabine Pass School, we would like to thank you for your generosity and assistance in helping us rebuild and recover out math resources. The kindness you’ve shown is overwhelming. Again, thank you and bless you all."

Duyen Blanton
Technology Coordinator

Salmen High School, Slidell, LA
Salmen High School is located approximately three miles from Lake Pontchartrain. Due to the destruction of the school, students were relocated to another school, with many of the students not immediately returning to the area. Due to the population changes, the district was forced to cut two math classrooms in 2005. As enrollment grew and students and their families returned to the area, the school was left with material shortages for the 2006 school year. Teachers needed to modify instruction due to the lack of available resources. The Foundation was able to provide Salmen's math department with two classroom sets of graphing calculators.

Tanglewood Elementary School, Baton Rouge, LA
Hurricane Katrina affected our school by bringing us over 100 new students and three new teachers. This increased population stretched our human and instructional resources. It has been a challenge for Tanglewood to meet the evacuees’ emotional and academic needs. The increase in number of students in classrooms has forced teachers to implement many different teaching strategies to hold students’ attention and teach to the varying levels, needs and learning styles in the math classrooms. The Foundation granted their funding request for whiteboard projection screen and laptop to display instruction resources to an entire classroom showing graphs, graphic organizers, textbook resources, calculators and math games on the big screen. The system will also allow students to log in responses to multiple choice items and receive immediate feedback.

“Thank you so much for accepting our grant to Rebuild Math Classrooms!  I am so excited about the possibilities that this will provide our students and teachers. I am confident that this will prove to be most beneficial to everyone at Tanglewood in helping us improve education for our displaced students and teachers.  You certainly made my day!”

Kathleen Smith, Principal
Tanglewood Elementary School

Trinity Lutheran School, Mobile, AL
Katrina’s water and wind caused some damage to the school.  Even with minor damage, Trinity Lutheran was able to enroll new students from more damaged areas.  Trinity Lutheran requested funding to replace damaged items and to acquire additional math resources for new students.  “Rebuild Math Classrooms” provided funding to replace calculators and math games and software.  Milliman Inc. provided 5 laptop computers to the school.

“The goal of Trinity Lutheran is to continue to make a difference in the lives of our children. With the help of donations from supporters such as you we will continue to render service to the community by providing a safe, caring, and productive environment in which children are equipped for responsible citizenship.”

Bettye D. Brown, Ed.S.
Principal

W.L. Abney Elementary School, Slidell, LA

Abney is a Pre-K through 5th grade school located on the south side of Slidell. During Hurricane Katrina, Abney received five to six feet of water throughout the building. School personnel were not allowed in the building to remove any materials and when it was open to inspection all materials were water-soaked and moldy. Inches and sometimes feet of muddy residue remained in the buildings. The Foundation was able to provide funding to replace 255 calculators with support from the actuarial community.

“Thank you for the funds to replace the calculators we lost in Hurricane Katrina.  Having students use calculators to solve problems is an important facet of our math curriculum and a required part of our state testing program.  We deeply appreciate your support of both our students and our efforts to rebuild our schools.”

Lynn Johnson
Teacher

Woodlawn High School, Shreveport, LA
Woodlawn enrollment swelled as students from surrounding areas relocated to Shreveport. Many students are residing in temporary housing and need resource to help them complete their homework assignments. The school requested laptop computers for these students and Milliman Inc. was able to provide 5 laptop computers.