JOPLIN, Mo. — More than 7,000 Joplin Eagles started class Wednesday in what students and teachers alike called a great start to the school year.

Superintendent C.J. Huff continued the tradition of taking a picture with all kindergartners, the class of 2025. He said he believes he took his 3,000th picture with a kindergartner in Joplin.

“If I had one wish for every kindergartner in our schools, it’s that they go through their school career giving their very best, that they take care of one another, they support one another, and that when they graduate from high school, they go on to do great, amazing things,” Huff said during his visit Wednesday to Cecil Floyd Elementary School.

“We have a lot of programming that’s going into place right now at the high school level and the middle school level that’s being put in place for this group of kindergartners.

“This is a digital age, and these are digital kids. They don’t even know what a rotary phone is. Trying to develop an educational system that meets the needs of these kids while providing basic skills and higher level skills related to processing and researching and assimilating information is going to be one of the bigger challenges over the next 10 years.”

All kindergartners received a new book on the first day of class through the United Way of Southwest Missouri and Southeast Kansas, and Gunlock Heating and Air’s partnership with Reach a Child, a group that works to “put smiles on the faces of children in crisis across America through the power of books,” according to its website.



MIDDLE SCHOOL

Students at North Middle School buzzed through the halls between periods trying to find their next class in what can be an especially daunting task for sixth-graders who are new to middle school. The district put on a Sixth-Grade Academy a few weeks ago to help students learn the expectations of middle school and things like locker combinations.

“Kids are getting schedules and going to their lockers and learning all the procedures of the school,” said Principal Brian Eggleston. “We spend a lot of time this first week and a half teaching kids how to get to classes and the things to do well in school and all of our expectations.”

The school district has started implementing its career pathway curriculum that allows students to begin to focus on being college-ready and career-ready when they graduate. Students start to think about possible careers in middle school by first determining what they like in sixth grade, and then exploring options in seventh and eighth grades, Eggleston said.

Teachers were excited for the year to start, with many of them citing more time to plan for this school year than last, when the district was rushed to find temporary buildings because of the May 2011 tornado.

“We have been so excited to get the kids back in the building,” said Brenda Clark, sixth-grade science teacher at North. “For the first summer in four years, we feel like we’ve had a summer — we’ve been able to plan and prepare. We’re ready to go. We’ve got a great bunch of students coming in. Big plans for having a super great year.”

Clark said that with the implementation of career pathways, she tries to get students interested in learning about careers in science.

“I call that rigor and relevance,” she said. “A kid learns best if there is some relevance to them, tying to the real world.”

Eighth-grader Shea Schrader said she was happy to see friends and even some “cool teachers.”

“I like the environment,” she said. “Everyone is just so nice about everything. Of course there’s still bullying and stuff that goes on, but for the most part, people are really nice.”



JOPLIN HIGH SCHOOL

Completing enrollment and class schedules and orienting new students was the focus Wednesday at the 11th- and 12th-grade center at Northpark Mall.

“I hope we can have as normal a school year as possible,” said JHS Principal Kerry Sachetta.

Sachetta said the district will continue to focus on the mental health needs of students and teachers as they continue to move on past the events of May 22, 2011.

“I think we’re a lot stronger than last school year,” said Lorissa Drewes, a JHS junior. “Last school year, teachers would mention the tornado, and we all got really teary-eyed. But this year, we’re getting better, stuff’s rebuilding, and it’s getting to be more normal than last year.”

Among the biggest challenges facing the two high school campuses in the next couple of years before the new school is built is merging the Joplin High School and Franklin Technology Center curricula, Sachetta said. Teachers also are learning how to best use the laptop initiatives in the classroom.

“We became a computer school last year, so the emphasis is going to be kids doing things on the computers, but that doesn’t replace teacher contact,” said Robin Meek, a special education teacher at JHS. “Sometimes you do shut the computers down and have a lesson the old-fashioned way.”

Students at the high school said they were interested in the new career pathways model.

“I’m really excited this year to get my basic classes out of the way and spend my senior year with teachers I really enjoy being around,” said Megan Bell, a JHS senior and student council president. “I want to go to the University of North Texas for graphic design and advertising, and several of my classes are going to help with that.”