Hurricane Katrina's Impact on Gifted Programs in Louisiana, 2005–2007

Abstract

Hurricane Katrina had, and continues to have, a devastating effect on every student who was living in the southeastern quadrant of Louisiana at the beginning of the 2005–2006 school term. African American public school students who were enrolled in gifted and talented programs were particularly impacted by the storm, although they comprised a healthy proportion of gifted and talented students statewide before Katrina struck. Following the hurricane, 20% of all of the gifted and talented students in Louisiana were displaced. Because the majority of that displacement occurred among the predominantly African American public school population in New Orleans, gifted and talented program enrollment among African American students was reduced by 47%. This article examines the circumstances in 4 Southeastern Louisiana parishes before and after Hurricane Katrina that contributed to the drastic reduction in gifted and talented African American participants. Included are suggestions for recovering this population of students, and for increasing proportional distribution of identified gifted and talented students statewide.