Flecha: When did you first realize that Hurricane Andrew might hit?

Markoff: Saturday August 22.

Flecha: How did you respond to the threat of the hurricane?

Markoff: I got very concerned about what I needed to do because I have never been through anything like that before.

Flecha: What preparations did you make?

Markoff: I listened to the radio incessantly and tried to do everything that they said like saving a lot of water and putting it in the freezer and refrigerator and turning the controls up, going to the market and getting canned goods and things I thought I would need, making sure all the flashlights worked that I had enough batteries, figuring out where I was going to stay, where I was going to put my car moving absolutely everything away from the windows in my apartment, moving things to there rooms that did not have windows, bringing in the plants from outside, planning everything for a couple of weeks without electricity and no accessibility to the outside world.;

Flecha: What did you anticipate the results of the hurricane would be?

Markoff: I thought there would be some devastation. I did not think I was in its path. Though it turns out that I was, I was in south Kendall which got very hard hit. But I didn’t think we would be. I thought that we would be without water, electricity and everything for a day or two but most likely only a few days.

Flecha: Where were you during the hurricane?

Markoff: I stayed at a friend’s place near MiamiDade Community College. It was a terrible area. It was a nightmare.

Flecha: What happened to you during the hurricane?

Markoff: We spent the entire night between a closet and a small bathroom. We were crouched and terrified.

Flecha: What were your concerns or thoughts during the hurricane?

Markoff: For the most of it, I was concerned about our physical safety, if we were going to make it. I wondered whether or not the roof and windows would fall in, whether we would lose everything, whether we would have an accident. Then as it subsided I wondered whether my car was safe, whether my apartment and things in it were protected or destroyed.

Flecha: What was the first thing you thought about right after the hurricane?

Markoff: I was real concerned about my things since I wasn’t with them. I don’t really remember the first thing. Just probably thankful that we all made it. After going through something like that I wasn’t really sure that it was over. It took me a long time to realize that it was over. That it wasn’t coming back. That it wasn’t a lull.

Flecha: What was your first day like after the hurricane?

Markoff: I hadn’t slept all night so I was exhausted. I had taken the GRE test the Saturday before so I was already very, very tired. I think I finally got some sleep sometime midmorning. Then we went to my apartment. It was a terrifying ride because all the roads were completely screwed up. Nothing was recognizable. We were just in a daze. It was a journey. An ordeal to get to my apartment. Once we finally got there, I found out that most of my things were alright but I was completely traumatized by the vast devastation everywhere and in the apartment complex. My neighbors and everyone around seemed to be destroyed. Most of my things seemed alright. I was just very traumatized. That’s all I remember. Very irritable and very tired.

Flecha: Did you receive any help after the hurricane?

Markoff: No. None.

Flecha: Did you provide help?

Markoff: Not the day after but the next day, I went to a shelter and volunteered. In future days after that I went to the Red Cross and went through the training and helped. I tried to help friends. I gave a lot of help to my friends.

Flecha: What kind of effect has Hurricane Andrew had on your life?

Markoff: My apartment had a lot of water damage. Many things need to be fixed. The complex is horrible. There is just debris and destruction everywhere I look. The problems in the complex is not getting any attention from the management. I feel stuck there. There is nowhere else to go. The traffic is horrendous where I live. My job was relocated to another school. Then we went back into a school that wasn’t ready. Everyone that I work with and all the children that I have are traumatized and devastated. It has taken an effect in every way. No stores are available around where I live It was a long time before I had amenities back. A long time before the traffic lights were back near my apartment. I was hit by a government van. Somebody was tired, wasn’t looking where he was going and smashed into my car. I haven’t been reimbursed the car isn’t fixed. Everything has changed. My mechanic isn’t there anymore. I am out of touch with a lot of my friends. It took awhile to get back in touch. But we haven’t seen each other still. My classes (at University of Miami) were delayed. Everything’s been changed.

Flecha: Has the hurricane significantly changed your plans for the future?

Markoff: No. I wouldn’t say so.

Flecha: Has your perspective of the world changed since the hurricane?

Markoff: No. I wouldn’t say so. At least not yet.

Flecha: When did you first come back to school to work?

Markoff: A few days before September 14, the teachers reported to school.

Flecha: Did you report to your actual school or where you relocated?

Markoff: We reported to our actual school, and then we were told where we were going to be. That’s when we found out that Pine Villa Elementary was relocating to Gilbert L. Porter Elementary.

Flecha: What did you find at your school?

Markoff: It was a nightmare. There was destruction. Looters had hurt the school more than the hurricane. It was very upsetting to see how much damage, how much was gone. The grounds especially. All the trees and the fences. It was just awful. We had the Red Cross Center set up at the school so there were a lot of very poor, dirty people There was just a lot of confusion.

Flecha: Describe the first day of school.

Markoff: Gilbert L. Porter Elementary School, where we relocated to, had a band playing outside. The Gilbert Porter people were real good. They were real up, up, up. It was fairly well organized. We didn’t have a whole lot of children our first day. It passed. It wasn’t a long day. We were on a double shift so the children were only there from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. It was a short day for us. Teachers were allowed to report just before the children.

Flecha: How did you feel about relocating temporarily?

Markoff: At first I really didn’t like it because it was a long commute and it was a lot of traffic. It was a longer way out there and I had to get out 5:30 p.m. or 6:00 p.m. and it really screwed me up. I was concerned because I had signed up for 5:00 classes at the University of Miami. I was given permission to leave early for my classes and the school that we were at was so clean, so unharmed and a much nicer school to begin with than our old school that I eventually liked it because it was a lot more pleasant. I liked having the morning to myself and the shorter days when I was excused to go to classes. It became a better situation and I was really sorry when we had to go back to our old school because it was in such bad shape. It is a longer day for me now. I have to go to this horrible school all day long and then go to classes at night.

Flecha: How did being on the double shift affect the students?

Markoff: I think they were very tired. They were on long bus rides when normally they would come from the neighborhood. The magnet children, I am in a Montessori program, the magnet children are used to bus rides. The long day with the little ones, they were falling asleep. They were tired and disoriented. They weren’t familiar with the school. That affected them we were sharing a classroom. The teachers aren’t really all together. They were all badly hurt. Their personal lives destroyed. There has been so much absenteeism. People have their own things to try to pick up and take care of. It affects you indirectly or directly. The children are not in the routine they should be.

Flecha: Describe the frustrations you experienced by sharing a classroom, not having the proper materials or supplies or any other difficulties that interfered with teaching.

Markoff: It is very difficult. In my particular class, we are not able to really do Montessori, not when you are sharing a classroom and really do Montessori, not when you are sharing a classroom and don’t have the supplies or a routine. My classroom became much more traditional and you’re winging it a lot. The other teacher is really a wonderful teacher but you have no preparations for sharing a classroom and not a lot planning time. I don’t know how to describe the frustration just that it is frustrating. It is very tiring. You just kind of go with it.

Flecha: What types of activities did you do with the students?

Markoff: We had naptime when normally at these times we would never have nap. We had snack time. The state was giving snacks and insisting the children had snack time so that was more academic learning time cut out for snack at the end of the day as well as the lunch they already had. Play time, we gave them a little more time that we normally would. At Gilbert Porter, they had videos at the end of the day, so we would turn on the video and let the children be quiet and watch. This is not normally in our curriculum. A lot less academic learning time.

Flecha: Has the trauma of the hurricane affected your teaching?

Markoff: Definitely. We just don’t have the materials and the energy. We don’t have the support. The entire administration has been traumatized. There is no one at our school that has not been severely affected. So, a lot of the whole school is just going through the motions. There are so many emotions running.

Flecha: Has the trauma of the hurricane impeded learning for most students? Please explain.

Markoff: I can’t see how it hasn’t. These kids are living in trailers, they are living with relatives, relatives are living with them. The hurricane is very much on their minds. They don’t have as much access to the outdoors. They are suffering with their parents with all the inconveniences, the traffic, the loss of toys and clothing. I can’t see how it hasn’t affected everybody.

Flecha: Please describe the role that your school may have played or may continue to play in rebuilding the community it serves.

Markoff: No. We are the victims. We are more the recipients. We have had another school adopt us and send some things. For instance, for Halloween, they sent candy and toys. The Red Cross used the school as a shelter we are not actively building. We are trying to rebuild ourselves. Our role in the community is trying to get the school back in shape.

Flecha: How has faculty morale been affected by the hurricane?

Markoff: Everybody is in a daze. Nobody is operating at full steam. Everybody is sick and tired. Very preoccupied and shorttempered. Everything is disorganized across the board. There has been a lot of leave of absences, transfers and people out.

Flecha: Are there any positive outcomes you have seen as a result of the hurricane?

Markoff: That’s hard to see. Personally, I mentioned that when we were at Gilbert Porter, on a personal level, there were positives. I enjoyed the schedule. Having the mornings to myself and a shorter day. I really can’t say that I’ve seen anything positive. I can imagine things positive like maybe rebuilding and making a better school. But that will be optimistic because chances are it is a very poor school in a poor area that doesn’t have much attention and chances are it will not be rebuilt better. It is not going to recover.

Flecha: Are there any special programs going on to help the children deal with the trauma of the hurricane?

Markoff: Not that I know of. There should be and we were promised all kinds of things by the school board but I haven’t seen it. Other than the school that has adopted us and sent supplies and some of the teachers have been reimbursed for some of the things the lost by the union or promised this or that. I haven’t seen it. I maybe unaware of it.

Flecha: Have there been any psychologists or counselors in the school?

Markoff: There were supposed to be. There aren’t. We have two school psychologists. But I think they have been so badly affected on a personal level that I see less happening rather than more.

Flecha: Now that you are back at Pine Villa are you using the Montessori approach?

Markoff: We are certainly trying .

Flecha: Is there anything else that you would like to add that I haven’t asked regarding the hurricane?

Flecha: I should clarify that the perspective I am giving is for my first year with the Chapter I Montessori. These are the poorest and the lowest scoring neighborhood children. This is the second year of the Chapter I Montessori, but my first year. I am giving a different perspective. The Magnet Montessori Program that I have been with for the past three years was put for the purposes of integration. It is 70% White and Hispanic and 30% Black. Those are the kids that are bussed in and they come from more affluent homes. This program seems to receive more attention and more money. There is almost no comparison. I am giving the perspective of the Chapter I Program and the children in our classroom. I think the Magnet Program has been less affected because the children come from less affected areas. The teachers also come from less affected areas. Where those particular classes were, their classrooms were spared. These classrooms are housed in a building that wasn’t hurt. Our program is funded separately. It is federally funded. They try to keep it as cohesive as they can in the school but it is a separate program. Pure Montessori should be integrated. But they don’t integrate the Chapter I and Magnet programs due to funding. It all has to do with the way it is managed.