The House of the Rising Sun.

Most of us remember the 1960s pop tune by Eric Burdon and The Animals that starts out, "There is a house in New Orleans they call the rising sun...." Now the song itself is about a brothel that serves as the "ruin of many a poor boy," but I always have been fascinated that something that can lead to no good has such a hopeful name--the "rising sun."

Just as the sun rises every morning to give us hope in a new day, the rising sun of New Orleans gives America a shot at redemption.

In many ways the city of New Orleans has become like the song about it--a place where bad things can happen but also a place of wonderful possibility. Many of us who will gather in New Orleans in March will see for ourselves the city rising from the ruins of Hurricane Katrina. Some will come out of curiosity, others out of a sense of duty and still others simply because that is where the National Conference on Education is going to be. Sadly others will not come because they are fearful of what they might find or because they have never been charmed by the city and see no reason to change that impression.

Moral Obligation

Some AASA folk have asked me how we could consider returning to New Orleans. There is a practical answer, and there is a much deeper one. The practical is that we had multiple contracts with the city, and we are legally obligated to be there. The deeper reason is that we have a moral contract with that part of the country.

AASA members were among the first to stand up in the immediate aftermath of Katrina. Those in the area acted heroically by helping their communities cope, by reopening their schools and by supporting their children and staff. Others, all across the country, took in those who had lost their homes and made a stable place for children who had seen death and destruction.

AASA immediately set out to get federal money earmarked for schools directly affected and for those who had taken in children. We also sought private support and created ways superintendents and school districts that wanted to help could make contact with those who needed that help. There was never a time I was prouder of our profession than I was those first few days after the storm. Superintendents stepped up and stood up for all that is best about public education--its openness and its compassion.

Katrina created a compact between all those who cared about children and who knew there was no choice but to support those who were desperate. So when it came to facing the question of whether we would honor our commitment to New Orleans and to that region, the answer was simple--we had a covenant with those people who had faced so much, and we will keep that covenant.

There were practical issues to consider, such as the capacity of the city to handle large numbers of people. It already has demonstrated that it can through Mardi Gras and the Jazz Fest. Now, as the convention center reopens, AASA, in its usual leadership role, will be the first large education group to gather there, though other associations far larger than ours have started coming to the city for their conferences. The American Libraries Association and the American Psychological Association held successful conventions there this summer. The National Association of Realtors will be there in November. Hotels have been renovated, as has the convention center itself. Restaurants are open for business and the town is moving forward.

A Rising Sun

Clearly some areas of the city remain devastated and life is far from normal in those areas.

Part of the conference activities will be to create opportunities for attendees to help in the rebuilding of the city through work projects and charitable opportunities. This leadership experience offers an opportunity to serve and be served. Read up on how you can help support your colleagues and the children of several New Orleans schools on AASA's convention website.

We have been hard at work shaping the content of the conference so that it will be a rich learning experience, but this year's gathering offers so much more than that. It gives us a chance, as President Gene White has suggested, to "Show Up, Stand Up, Step Up and Speak Up."

Showing up in New Orleans will say, more than words ever could, that school leaders keep their word and their commitments. Being part of this gathering will allow you to once more stand up for public education and the children its serves. We also can step up to support our Gulf Coast colleagues and let them know they continue to be in our hearts and, by doing so, you can speak up for your own children and communities and the issues you face.

I can't remember another national conference that has more opportunity to both be an educational experience for the attendees and for the attendees themselves to educate America on issues of how we can best help those who have been left behind. Education is about creating new possibilities and so is our conference in New Orleans. It is our chance to not only witness the sun rising but to help ourselves, as the lyrics of the song suggest, to spend some days "beneath that rising sun."

Paul Houston is AASA executive director. E-mail: [e-mail]