Sometimes the challenges are both drastic and sudden. Fresh out of college, Ashley Freiberg-one of the study respondents had been a kindergarten teacher for only a few weeks when she found herself welcoming evacuees from Hurricane Katrina into her Baton Rouge, Louisiana, classroom: "I have 28 kindergarten children in my classroom, and it is my job to work with each of my students and present them with information that will help them to become readers, to master basic math facts, to know about the world around them, and to follow the classroom and school rules. I must do this leaving no child behind, teaching each individual student in the classroom, without a classroom aide!" Despite the pressures, Ashley adapted, doing what she had to for each child. Her flexibility exemplifies a vital character trait that respondents felt effective teachers must have.