Evacuees' Needs Testing Schools

TAMPA School psychologists and social workers are dealing with an influx of student evacuees who have seen unimaginable things.

At least one child from New Orleans "has seen the bodies in the water," said Karen Brown, the Hillsborough County district's supervisor of school health services. "Two others watched their parents being washed away. They haven't seen them since."

Students such as those and many others may need more than the district can provide in long-term psychological help, said Ken Gaughan, Hillsborough supervisor of school social workers.

So far, school health care professionals have been able to handle the concerns as crisis management, Gaughan said. For long-term care, the school district is working with public mental health agencies.

"We're talking to many families who still don't know where everybody is in their family," Gaughan said. "I believe we will need more help than we recognize right now."

Each day, students arrive who have been under stress longer, Brown said. Some were in the Superdome, the Astrodome or other congregate living facilities, she said.

"A lot are making the decision to relocate," Brown said. "In some cases, the parents have gone back."

As of Thursday, more than 180 hurricane victims had enrolled in Hillsborough public schools. One of them said he is homesick but otherwise OK, even though he had a rough trip to Hillsborough and does not know whether his home is flooded.

Brandon Winston was asleep in a warehouse near the Superdome when Hurricane Katrina hit. His family was with him.

"The doors kept slamming and stuff, but I slept through most of the hurricane," the 17-year-old said, "until a big old iron door came down on our car. That woke me up."

The family car was in a nearby warehouse that collapsed, he said. Winston and his family hitched rides with relatives to stay ahead of the flooding, spending days on the road from New Orleans to Baton Rouge to Lake Charles.

Four days ago, he landed in Riverview, where he's staying with a cousin. Both teens are attending Riverview High School.

"This is my first time leaving New Orleans, so everything is new to me," he said. "It's all right here, though, since my cousin is the same age as me."

Back home, Winston attended Marion Abramson High School in east New Orleans. He is not sure whether it was damaged or whether his family's home is under water. Still, he said, he's ready to go home once water and electricity are restored.

"I was kind of hoping I'd go back, but they say it will take 25 to 30 days to get the water pumped out," he said.

The district's physician and nurse practitioners have traveled to schools to give dozens of physicals, and so far, no serious health concerns have shown up. The district is also working to provide immunizations. Florida requires more than Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, Brown said.

Hurricane victims have been allowed to enroll in school without health or academic records.