New Orleans Students Enroll at Bishop England on Daniel Island

Five New Orleans students displaced by Hurricane Katrina have found a new educational home at Bishop England High School.

“We’ve enrolled two sisters who are in 10th and 11th grade, two senior boys and two junior boys,” said Alice Bolchoz, director of guidance and admissions. “What happened in New Orleans is such a sad situation. They came here with no records, but we’ve gotten them into classes as quickly as possible. The worst thing would be for them to be out of school for any length of time.”

She said the two senior boys attended New Orleans’ Holy Cross High School and they saw images on TV of their flooded school, which may not reopen this year.

“They’ve jumped right in and gotten involved,” Bolchoz said. “One boy is on the cross-country team and the other is a swimmer. In fact, he took second place in a swimming meet last weekend.”

She said fellow students have warmly accepted the new arrivals, which reflects Bishop England’s motto: “Academic Excellence in a Caring Environment.”

Principal David Held agrees.

“I’ve been so impressed with our students, who have gone out of their way to welcome these kids,” he said. “And it appears that they are assimilating very well here. It’s gone unbelievably smoothly so far.”

Held said the entire school community, including parents and staff, has reached out to help the new students with their transition.

“It really has been heartwarming,” he said. “Right now, we really don’t know when the schools will reopen in New Orleans. So our goal is to take care of them for as long as they need. Think about it, you go to school on a Friday and on Tuesday your school is gone. One week later you’re wearing green and white. The resiliency of these six kids has really been amazing.”

Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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