Governor, Education Officials Visit Students Displaced By Katrina
Pin Oak Middle School Welcomes Evacuated Students With Open Arms
POSTED: Friday, September 16, 2005
UPDATED: 1:30 pm CDT September 16,
2005
HOUSTON -- The governor, along with state and federal education officials, visited a southwest Houston middle school on Friday where more than 50 students displaced by Hurricane Katrina have enrolled.
U.S. Secretary of Education and
Houston Independent School District alumni Margaret Spellings, Gov. Rick Perry, Texas Commissioner of Education Shirley Neeley and Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams toured
Pin Oak Middle School at noon.
Educators and classmates at the school have welcomed the displaced students with open arms. Pin Oak Principal Michael McDonough and the school's social worker, Alyson Bricker, sat down individually with each student and his or her family during the enrollment process to talk about their needs.
The displaced students were assigned a regular Pin Oak student as a buddy, given three Polo shirts with the school's logo on it, a spirit shirt that can be worn on Fridays and a school planner. School officials also organized a clothing drive for the families.
More than 1,200 students attend Pin Oak, located at 4601 Glenmont, which has served as a middle school in the district for four years and offers a foreign language magnet program.
Officials said the district has enrolled more than 4,000 students evacuated from the Gulf Coast region.
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