Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/912628
President Eric Heins vowed. One of those who asked for Council's help that day was Napa Valley Educators Association President Gayle Young. Her chapter made sure the three local teach- ers who lost homes each received $1,000 from NVEA soon after the Atlas Fire hit that area, which shut down the district for two weeks. In several school districts, special cat- astrophic fire leave banks and relaxed personal leave rules were negotiated by union teacher leaders and CTA staff so educators could have more paid time off to deal with rebuilding their homes and disrupted lives. Disaster grants help out Many displaced Santa Rosa-area teach- ers applied for CTA Disaster Relief Fund grants as they balance classroom duties and tending their disrupted lives. Zoe Miller, who lost her house, used part of her $3,500 emergency grants to buy clothes and shoes immediately, since she had little time to pack as her family fled the fires at her home that frightening night of Oct. 8. Zoe Miller points to where her home once stood; Miller in her Piner High School class in Santa Rosa, post fire. She gently welcomed her Piner High School students back after the fires shut down district schools for nearly three weeks. "ey saw me as the teacher I was before the fire, which is what I wanted to achieve," she says. "It's easy to say it's going to be OK, but it's not going to be OK right away. It's going to take a long time." One of the few things she grabbed as she fled her home was students' ungraded hom ew ork, because grades were du e soon. "I thought I probably should get this done for the kids." For Nancy Blair, some of the money went for a down payment on a used truck to replace the family's 2008 Toyota Sienna that burned at her Mark West Estates home in Santa Rosa. "at was wonder- ful. It was extremely helpful." Around 1 a .m . that hot O ct. 9, sh e escaped in a second car with her hus- band, twin 10-year-old boys, two dogs, her cellphone and some medicines. "We thought we had more time." Like many North Bay educators, she was given a list of her students at Rincon Valley Middle School who had lost their homes. Not all kids were open to talking about it right away. "It's delicate territory. You don't want to upset anybody." Some students gave her gift cards. Lesley Van Dordrecht and her husband had minutes to flee their home in the pul- verized Coffey Park neighborhood, which lost more than 1,000 houses overnight. She planned to bank her CTA disaster grant for rebuilding costs. After teaching 24 years at Mark West El em ent ar y in th e Mark We st Union School District, she had lots of school memories in the house. "I had just taken home all my memories. It was a big box of photos from my whole career." Her first day back to school helped her heal. "e school is here for me. e teachers. Everybody is helping everybody. I just can't wait to feel normal again." Kindergarten teacher Cati Day lost her dream house. With its sweeping views of oak trees and green valleys on a hilltop above Santa Rosa, the 24-acre property was a dream come true for Doug and Cati Day, who both teach at San Miguel Elementary in the Mark West district. Her family was never in danger, stay- ing in their smaller second home in Santa Rosa by chance the night of the fires, but frantic calls from friends in the burning hills after midnight ended any hope for their custom-built house of 13 years. " It w a s t h e C h r i s t m a s h o u s e , t h e Th a n k s g iv i n g h o u s e , th e st a f f p a r ty house," she says. " The property is still incredibly beautiful and inviting. The house is gone. The buildings are gone, but the property is still in our hearts, and we're going to rebuild." See californiaeducator.org for addi- tional photos and coverage. 66 cta.org CTA & You Video Interviews S E E Z O E M I L L E R describe the night she evacuated, Paul Drake talk about his donation center, and Will Lyon point out what's left of a Santa Rosa neighborhood at tinyurl.com/CTA-wildfire.