RESERVE – Best Buy Corp. has awarded $41,000 in gift cards to St. John the Baptist Parish Schools to help with the added costs of enrolling students displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

&#8220This gift is a tremendous blessing,” Superintendent Michael Coburn said. &#8220Our schools have suffered a financial blow because of the large number of displaced students added to the rolls. This gift will greatly help offset those added costs.”

The awards are part of Best Buy’s &#8220te@ch” emergency response program for K-12 schools. The program provides assistance to schools around the United States that have enrolled children displaced by the hurricanes.

According to the bestbuy.com website, the corporation will award up to $3 million in gift cards this year through this special program. Nearly 1,000 schools are expected to benefit.

The deadline for the &#8220te@ch” emergency response awards has been extended through Jan. 13 to include Gulf Coast schools reopening late, according to the corporation’s website, which notes that those second round of applications will be posted in mid-February.

Those St. John the Baptist Parish schools receiving the awards include John L. Ory Magnet and LaPlace Elementary, both receiving $6,000; East St. John Elementary, East St. John High, Fifth Ward Elementary, Lake Pontchartrain Elementary and West St. John High, each receiving $5,000; and Garyville/Mt. Airy Magnet, receiving $4,000.

Best Buy’s emergency response program grew out of its &#8220te@ch” program, which f has rewarded schools for using interactive technology to make learning fun for kids.