Monday, May 23, 2011

Joplin R-8 Fact Sheet addresses tornado damage

The following Fact Sheet was posted earlier today on the Joplin R-8 School District Facebook page:
The first priority today in the Joplin Schools is the safety of our students and staff. We are asking members of our Joplin Schools family to call in to (417) 625-5270 to let us know whether they are safe and well.

With the information we have so far, we believe more than 60 percent of our families have been displaced.

Damage to Our Schools

The damage to our district's schools was devastating.

■Three school buildings were destroyed, including our high school.

■Three schools were severely damaged.

■Two schools have possible roof damage.

■Several district support facilities sustained some damage.

■The remaining 11 buildings were not damaged.

It could take us up to a few months to assess all the damage to find out what repairs are necessary and how long it will take to safely reopen all our schools.

Cancelling School

School is cancelled for the rest of the school year. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education forgave our remaining nine school days.
Communication

Because the storm knocked out the district's website and email, we are communicating through recorded phone messages, phone trees, the district Facebook page, the district Twitter feed and the local media.

As we get more information, we will use these communication tools to keep everyone up-to-date.
Summer School

After we make sure that all our students and staff are safe, we will decide if we will be offering summer school.
Donations

Because school is not in session, we do not need school supplies. The district is asking that financial donations be made to the Ozarks Chapter of the Red Cross for Joplin.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thank you keeping us informed about our schools. Please update your blog as often as you can, it's the most accurate info about Joplin schools I've seen on the Internet.