| Joplin High School | |
|---|---|
| Joplin High School crest. | |
| Location | |
| Joplin, Missouri United States |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Comprehensive public high school |
| Principal | Kerry Sachetta[1] |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 2,223 |
| Website | www.joplineagles.org |
Joplin High School is a public high school in Joplin, Jasper County, Missouri, USA. The first high school was founded in 1888 and was located where the current Memorial Hall now stands on 8th and Joplin Ave. In 2010, JHS had a student population of 2,223 students in grades 9-12. Joplin High School is fully accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Joplin High School is also a designated Missouri A+ School of Excellence. Franklin Technology Center, a vocational and technical education school, is located across the street from Joplin High School and offers secondary and adult education classes.
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Joplin High School is celebrating 125 years of secondary public education in the city of Joplin. In 1885, Joplin High School began with just a few students, and in three years diplomas were awarded for the first graduating class. Soon thereafter, as the population of Joplin grew at the turn of the century, so did the number of students graduating annually. In the early of days of public secondary education, not everyone attended high school. However, with the comprehensive high school movement and expanded curriculum offerings in the early 1900s many students persisted with their education. Following the inception of Joplin High School in 1885, there was one public high school until 1933. However, from 1934 to 1956 Joplin had two public high schools. In addition to the program offered at Joplin Senior High School, Lincoln High School offered African-American students a high school education. In the late 1950s, Lincoln High School students joined up with Joplin Senior High School students and attended school together at the present location at 2104 Indiana Avenue. 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 two schools came back together to form Joplin High School for the 1985-1986 school year and until the present time. Over the past 125 years, over 34,400 students have graduated from public high school in Joplin.
Extensive renovations completed in 2003, included a new library/media center, science classrooms, a renovated performance theater, and an expanded cafeteria. In 2005, a 1,300 sq ft (120 m2) studio for the television station (JET-14) was added to the JHS campus which offers students the opportunity to create television programming using industry-standard television equipment.[2] The JHS campus also includes Kaminsky Gymnasium and baseball, soccer, and softball fields (on campus), as well as an off-campus Junge Field.
In May 2011, a tornado that killed more than 160 people in Joplin extensively damaged the high school: According to principal Kerry Sachetta, "You see pictures of World War II, the devastation and all that with the bombing. That's really what it looked like. I couldn't even make out the side of the building. It was total devastation in my view. I just couldn't believe what I saw."[1] In the weeks after the tornado, it was determined that the campus was irreparable and would need to be completely rebuilt. The high school's graduation ceremonies had just taken place shortly before the tornado about three miles north on the campus of Missouri Southern State University.[3]
School officials announced in June 2011 that juniors and senior in the 2011-12 class (and possibly later) would attend classes in a section of Northpark Mall.[4][5] Classes began in the renovated former Shopko location on August 17, 2011.[6]
