Doris Voitier, the superintendent of the St. Bernard Parish, La., public schools, last week was named a recipient of the 2007 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, in recognition of her leadership in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Every building in Ms. Voitier’s 8,000-student district was destroyed by the storm, but she “worked tirelessly,” without the help of the state or federal government, to reopen schools to 300 students just weeks afterward, the award committee said. Under her leadership, the district will open five schools serving 4,000 students by this August.
A version of this article appeared in the March 21, 2007 edition of Education Week
