Then and Now: New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina

PEOPLE.com revisits the city – and its determined residents – four years after the devastating storm

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SPARKLING CLEAN

But with the community rallying around the landmark school – and with $9 million in federal rebuilding funds – a sparkling clean, fully equipped Brock Elementary welcomed students on December 9, 2008. This school year, classes are just 16 students shy of post-Katrina numbers. "When we came back and I saw the smiles on the kids' faces, I knew everything would be okay," Smith tells PEOPLE.