Guest blogger Dr. Frances Weiler, is the principal of North Bay Elementary School in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

August 29, 2005 changed the world — at least it changed my world. My home, my school, and my community were essentially destroyed. Thousands of homes were swept away by the fury of Hurricane Katrina, and thousands more were damaged beyond repair.

Schools did not escape the destruction. Along with the forceful winds, Katrina swept ten feet of water over North Bay Elementary which knocked out exterior and interior walls, flooded all books, records and instructional materials, and left our school community in ruins. Those ruins are still in view every day. We can see it out the windows of our temporary classrooms; our school buses pass it as they transport our students to and from school. And destruction is still visible everywhere in our community.

Like Charles Dickens wrote, “it was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” August 29 was certainly our worst, and those days after August 29 were filled with many anxieties.

One of our very first tasks was the daunting one of contacting teachers and staff. To our great relief, no district employee was lost to Katrina, even though some did decide to leave immediately after the storm.

Within two weeks district administrators were working to put our schools back together, and on November 7 we came back together with fewer than 50% of our students for our first day of school after Katrina. After missing 45 school days, all of us were more than ready to be back in our school and our classrooms.

As we prepared to have our second “first” day of school, we discovered many things. One was the generosity of people throughout the nation; donations poured in from all directions to replace those classroom essentials that we had lost. Two was that Dian (Dee) Ross of First Book contacted us to talk about the donation of thousands of books.

Our relationship with First Book had begun several years ago through the instigation of a retired staff member, and we had always valued that relationship. Since the storm, Dee has become a dynamic advocate for our school and has strengthened our First Book connection. Dee, through First Book, has supplied our students with numerous books, and we are so thankful for both her and First Book for restoring our students’ supply of books.

First Book and I share the same beliefs about the importance of books for students. Personally, I love the joy on every student’s face whenever new books are distributed. Students are so excited when they receive their very own books to take home.

When I became principal of North Bay over six years ago, I initiated a program that rewarded good behavior with books because I know that literacy depends a great deal upon the number of books that are available to students at their homes. I also try to talk with students about their books because that sharing of books emphasizes the importance of reading and shares the joy.

Many of us are still in the FEMA travel trailers, but they are packed with books! Reading is still the way to escape the reality of daily life, and now we need that more than ever. Thank you, First Book, for providing one more way to give our students books.