Count me among those who are grateful that once again JHS students are together in one building and that no one is attending classes at a mall high school any more.
As critical as I have been of the people who made the decisions, I have always hoped that their excesses would not present a major problem in getting school started. Once the first bell rings, hopefully teachers and students will be able to put aside the media who will undoubtedly be present and begin the most important work of all- the learning that takes place in the classrooms.
There are some who say that it is time that we put the excesses of the Joplin R-8 Board of Education and the C. J. Huff Administration in the past and bask in the glory of opening a new high school three years after the tornado.
That would be a mistake.
Not exploring those excesses increases the chances that the practices that enabled the school district to reach the precarious financial condition it is in now will continue. That would mean that while we have a 21st Century state-of-the-art building for those who are attending high school now, we may not be able to afford what the students of the future need and may continue to lose the excellent teachers that play a far bigger role than any building in paving the road for success for our children.
It is great to have the students back in Joplin High School. Hopefully, on this day at least, the focus will be on those students and not on any of those who want to push the "mission accomplished' message.
Opening Joplin High School is not the conclusion of a mission- it is the beginning.
Now the real work begins.
A building doesn't make education better if you don't have a dedicated staff with goals set by an effective administration. A great teacher can educate kids in a barn. A poor teacher just can't get it done!!!
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