Kindergartners line up on their first day of school at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School for Science and Technology in the Lower 9th Ward three years ago. While school leaders say they want diverse schools to reflect the city's population, most schools are still largely African-American. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption
When The Levees Broke: The rate of suicide in 2008 and 2009 in Orleans Parish was about twice as high as it was the two years before the levees broke. Above, the 17th Street Canal Levee. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption
Before evacuating from Katrina, Bobbie Jennings (right) lived next door to her twin sister, Gloria Williams, in the public housing that existed on the same site as Harmony Oaks in New Orleans. While Jennings likes the actual apartment, she says she is unhappy with the new development because the new apartments do not provide the same sense of community as before. Katie Hayes/NPR hide caption
Lumar C. LeBlanc was photographed for the Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston project installation, "Who We Are." LeBlanc was interviewed by Dallas McNamara, a fellow Katrina evacuee, on Jan. 21, 2007. Dallas McNamara hide caption
New Orleans' premier musical event, the Jazz and Heritage Festival, has been steadily rebuilding attendance since then, drawing on nationally known local talent such as Aaron Neville (above). Courtesy of Aaron Neville hide caption
Ronisha Mathis, left, and Tessua Phillips are seen at the B.W. Cooper housing project in New Orleans in 2007. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption
Bay St. Louis Emergency Management Agency volunteer crews rescue the Taylor family from the roof of their Suburban, which became trapped on U.S. 90 due to flooding during Hurricane Katrina. Ben Sklar/AP hide caption
After Hurricane Katrina hit five years ago, Donnell Bailey was displaced to Houston. There, the 10-year-old was placed in a national charter school known as KIPP. At first, Donnell acted out. But eventually, he turned his behavior around -- and when he moved back to Louisiana, he was placed in another KIPP school, which eventually recommended him to a private school. Now, Donnell is a sophomore at the Metairie Park Country Day School in Metairie, La., and is class president. Katie Hayes/NPR hide caption
Sharon Hanshaw, a beautician turned global climate activist living in Biloxi, Miss., has traveled the world to tell the story of how her neighborhood has struggled to recover from Hurricane Katrina. Debbie Elliott/NPR hide caption
A New Orleans citizen waves the city's flag in a scene from Spike Lee's documentary If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise. Charley Varley / HBO hide caption
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images hide caption
Sherrel Johnson, the mother of James Brissette who was killed on the Danziger Bridge in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, speaks to reporters on April 7 outside a federal court in New Orleans. Former New Orleans police officer Michael Hunter pleaded guilty that day in connection with a police cover-up of their shooting of unarmed civilians. Gerald Herbert/AP hide caption