Wikipedia

Joplin High School

Joplin High School is a public high school located in Joplin, Missouri, United States, founded in 1885. The school serves students in grades 9 through 12 and is the only traditional high school in the Joplin School District.

Joplin High School
Joplin High School shortly after the 2011 tornado
Address
Map
2104 Indiana Avenue

Joplin
,
Missouri
64804

United States
Coordinates37°04′05″N 94°30′21″W / 37.0680°N 94.5057°W / 37.0680; -94.5057
Information
TypePublic
OpenedAugust 1885
School districtJoplin School District
CEEB code261585
Faculty120.38 (FTE)[1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment2,233 (2022–23)[1]
Student to teacher ratio18.55[1]
Campus size39.27 acres (15.89 ha)
Campus typeSuburban
Color(s)  Red
  Silver
  Navy
Athletics conferenceCentral Ozark Conference
Team nameEagles
NewspaperSpyGlass
Websitejhs.joplinschools.org

History

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In 1885, Joplin High School began operation. The original site was expanded in 1892 to accommodate more students, and in 1897, students moved to a new site due to continued growth.[2] In 1911, the students built a biplane and on October 11, 1911 Harold Robinson piloted the plane and it crashed, killing a bystander, James Kinney.[3] A successful 1915 referendum allocated $350,000 for a new school, which opened in January 1918.[2] In 1955, the new building was already too small to hold all the students, and a new $2.5 million bond was approved. When this proved to be too small of an amount of funding, voters rejected two additional bonds, leading to a student walk-out in 1957 in support of new facilities.[2] A bond in early 1958 was approved to finish construction of the school, and classes commenced in the latest building that fall.[2] Joplin was racially integrated without incident.[2]

Later, in 1968, Joplin High School split into two high schools, one named Parkwood at 2104 Indiana Avenue and the other was named Memorial High School at 310 W. 8th Street. Joplin had two public high schools for the next 17 years until the Baby Boom enrollment bubble burst, leading to the consolidation of the two back into Joplin High School.[2]

Extensive renovations completed in 2003, and a television studio was completed in 2005.[4]

2011 tornado

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The 2011 Joplin tornado that killed 161 people in Joplin extensively damaged the high school and Franklin Tech.[5] The high school's graduation ceremonies had taken place that afternoon about three miles away on the Missouri Southern State University campus shortly before the tornado struck.[6] In the weeks after the tornado, it was determined that the campus would need to be completely rebuilt. Planning for a temporary school began four days after the May 22 tornado. School officials announced in June 2011 that juniors and seniors in the 2011–12 class would attend classes in a section of Northpark Mall[7][8][9] in the renovated former Shopko location, while freshmen and sophomores held classes at the former Memorial High School building. Classes began as scheduled on August 17, 2011.[10][11]

On May 20, 2012, President Barack Obama addressed the JHS graduating class's commencement ceremony, held almost one year to the day of the deadly tornado.[12][13]

Temporary campus and facilities

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From August 2011 to May 2014 the school was split between a renovated former Shopko store at Northpark Mall and a former high school. The design of this temporary facility was awarded the Council of Educational Facilities Planners International's 2012 James D. MacConnell Award for excellence in school design.[14]

On May 22, 2012, the groundbreaking ceremony was held marking the start of construction of the new permanent replacement school. Construction costs for the new 488,000 plus-square-foot facility designed by Corner Greer Associates of Joplin and the Overland Park, Kansas firm DLR Group, which includes a state of the art vocational technical center, are expected to be $120 million.

After three years in temporary campuses as a result of the 2011 tornado, Joplin High School opened at 2104 Indiana Ave. on September 2, 2014.[15]

Athletics and co-curricular activities

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JHS athletic teams are nicknamed the Eagles and compete in the Central Ozark Conference, joining the conference in 2018 after previously being a member of the Ozark Conference.[16]

State Championships[17]
Sport Year(s)
Baseball 1955, 1959, 2001
Basketball (boys) 1939, 1950, 1955, 1967
Golf (boys) 1946, 1955, 1956

JHS fields two competitive show choirs, the mixed-gender "Sound Dimension" and the all-female "Touch of Class". It previously fielded another mixed-gender group, "New Expressions", and another all-female group, "Glitz".[18] The program also hosts an annual competition.[19]

Noted alumni

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "JOPLIN HIGH". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Schrader, Kathleen (July 29, 2014). "Joplin schools: A long history of change". Joplin Globe. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  3. ^ "Aviation Victims Now Number 100" (PDF). New York Times. October 15, 1911.
  4. ^ Turner, Randy (June 6, 2011). "New Joplin High School envisioned". The Turner Report. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  5. ^ "Storm Event Survey". National Weather Service Springfield, Missouri. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  6. ^ "News". www.ky3.com. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011.
  7. ^ "Mall will be school for Joplin students displaced by tornado". KYTV. Associated Press. June 10, 2011. Archived from the original on August 3, 2011.
  8. ^ "Joplin juniors, seniors will attend school at mall in fall". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Associated Press. June 10, 2011.
  9. ^ Operation Rising Eagle, Joplin Schools Facility Information, retrieved 2012-10-03
  10. ^ Zager, Alan Scher (August 17, 2011). "School starts in tornado-torn Joplin". WWLP-TV. Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011.
  11. ^ Joplin students return to school in temporary facilities, KJRH.com, 08/16/2011, retrieved 2012-10-03
  12. ^ Obama visits Joplin one year after tornado, speaks at high school commencement, Washington Post, May 21, 2012, retrieved 2012-10-03
  13. ^ Washington Examiner, May 22, 2012, retrieved 2012-10-03
  14. ^ CEFPI MacConnell Award Archived July 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2012-10-03
  15. ^ "After the Tornado, an Innovation in School Design: How Joplin's Rebuilt High School Is Protecting Students From Mother Nature — and Peer Conflict". The 74 Million. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  16. ^ Burger, Rance (April 18, 2016). "Joplin High School to leave Ozark Conference, will compete in COC in 2018-2019". USA Today High School Sports. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  17. ^ "Joplin High School". Missouri State High School Activities Association. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  18. ^ "SCC: Viewing School - Joplin High School". Show Choir Community. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  19. ^ McClintock, Kevin (January 29, 2018). "Own the stage: JHS show choir invitational inviting the area's best to Joplin". Joplin Globe. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  20. ^ Wise and Wilderson 2000, p. 189.
  21. ^ Shore, Derek (September 24, 2022). "Joplin product Isaiah Davis makes return to Southwest Missouri". The Joplin Globe. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  22. ^ Henry, Jim (January 10, 2019). "Joplin graduate Luebber to take over as pitching coach for Royals' affiliate". Joplin Globe. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  23. ^ Coble, Don (May 29, 2011). "NASCAR's Jamie McMurray focuses on helping tornado-ravaged Joplin, Mo". Florida Times-Union. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
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