Having to fight to get her old job back as the head of Benjamin Banneker Elementary was humbling for Cheryllyn Branche. She served as principal for three years before [Katrina] destroyed her home and forced her to flee to Baton Rouge.

Under state control, [Branche] and teachers said, Banneker has improved. Branche now has the power to hire and fire her teachers -- a critical shift. Before Katrina, the central administration often forced unwanted teachers on principals, and a contract with the teachers union gave preference based on seniority.

BACK IN CLASS: Kindergarten teacher Susan Harvey leads a discussion Thursday at Banneker Elementary in New Orleans.; PHOTOGRAPHER: Photographs by Lori Waselchuk For The Times; RUINED: Joseph Hardin Elementary once held 650 students. Flooding left about 30 of the city's public schools beyond repair.; PHOTOGRAPHER: Lori Waselchuk For The Times; BDBACK IN CLASS: Fourth-grade teacher Lucille Chaix congratulates Areial Ward on a poem at Benjamin Banneker Elementary School, a New Orleans campus under state control.; PHOTOGRAPHER: Lori Waselchuk For The Times