Twenty years ago, Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana, setting in motion radical changes to the New Orleans education system. As floodwaters receded, the state took over most of the Crescent City's schools, many of which had been failing for years—an experiment that has been extensively studied and debated ever since.

In the two decades that have passed, children who grew up attending schools in the overhauled system have graduated, new families have negotiated its complexity, and schools have opened and shuttered. But one constant has been the educators who were a key element to the city’s educational rebirth. To commemorate them, EdWeek reporters profiled two women who have made their careers in education before and after the storm—and have navigated this ever-changing education landscape.

Coupled with the new reporting, we invite you to read Education Week’s award-winning coverage from the 10^th anniversary of Katrina, as well as archival pieces written two decades ago that documented the storm’s devastation, the challenges and successes educators and families encountered, and the policy tradeoffs.