Former President George W. Bush poses for a selfie with former first lady Laura Bush, marching band director Asia Muhaimin, right, and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, far left, and the marching band at Warren Easton Charter High School in New Orleans on Friday.

Bush enjoyed sympathetic audiences in New Orleans and Mississippi on Friday as he returned to the region where Hurricane Katrina sank his popularity 10 years ago.

He avoided parts of New Orleans that have yet to recover from the devastating storm, such as the Lower 9th Ward, where President Barack Obama mingled with hundreds of residents the day before. Bush did not tour the federally managed levees whose failures flooded 80 percent of the city.

Instead, he visited a school rebuilt with support from former first lady’s foundation, then flew to Gulfport, Mississippi, to honor police and firefighters who saved lives after Katrina’s towering storm surge swamped the coast.

“The 10th anniversary is a good time to honor courage and resolve,” Bush said in Gulfport. “It’s also a good time to remember we live in a compassionate nation.”

Bush took no questions at either event, and made no mention of his administration’s lackluster initial response to Katrina, which historians consider a low point for his presidency. In New Orleans, he focused instead on promoting charter schools.