Students and Storms

In one room, 66 sixth graders used folding chairs and tables donated by a parent who works in the catering business. They talked about their experiences in the storm. One boy, small, with a buzz cut and bright blue eyes, started out with a joke. “It was a dark and stormy night. …” But soon he broke down into sobs as he recounted watching the floods in his basement and the fires in Breezy Point burn down part of his neighborhood. Ann Marie Todes, a teacher, hugged him closely.

From “More Studen...