Joplin School District
The Joplin School District is located in Jasper and Newton Counties in the City of Joplin, Missouri. It serves more than 7,700 students in the school district.On May 22, 2011, an EF5 tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri. In the path of the tornado, Joplin High School, Franklin Technical Center, East Middle School, Irving Elementary, and Emerson Elementary were destroyed; Cecil Floyd Elementary, Duquesne Elementary, Eastmorland Elementary, and Kelsey Norman were damaged as well. In the months after the tornado, plans have been made to rebuild all schools that were destroyed in the tornado. The school district re-opened its Middle and Elementary schools on January 9, 2014; and Joplin High School and Franklin Technical Center re-opened in August 2014.
Tornadoes of 2011
The 553 confirmed fatalities marks the second-most tornadic deaths in a single year in U.S. history, behind only 1925 in terms of fatalities attributed to tornadic activity. Most of the damage and over two-thirds of the year's total fatalities were caused by a late-April Super Outbreak and an EF5 tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri in late-May.