Joplin Schools has been awarded a $300,000 grant through the School Safety Reimbursement Grant Program!

The statewide grant program aims to support school safety improvements, including physical security upgrades and associated technology (including door locks, monitoring systems), bleeding control kits, epinephrine auto-injectors, and automatic external defibrillators. Awards were announced on Oct. 2.

Assistant Superintendent Matt Harding said plans are in place to use the award for stronger access controls at many district buildings to keep students safe. The funding will support upgrades to allow as many schools as possible to have access controls that are similar to those at Dover Hill Elementary, which was built with improved safety in mind.

These improvements follow upgrades this summer to access controls at Cecil Floyd Elementary and Joplin High School, all with the goal of making Joplin Schools the safest places for kids to be.

Schools applied to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) through a competitive grant application process.

We are thankful that our district was chosen to receive the maximum grant funding possible, and appreciative of the facilities staff who submitted the grant application in support of our district's specific needs.

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Eagles Giving Back

JHS Soccer Teams Clean Up in Downtown Joplin

Members of the JHS Soccer Teams recently headed to Downtown Joplin where they had a friendly competition to see who could gather the most trash to clean up our city's streets and sidewalks. Taking ownership and pride in our community is one important facet of a well-rounded education for our students on their way to graduation. Thank you to the coaches for working to instill service-minded values, and arranging opportunities like this. Good work, Eagles!

Kerry's Corner

A Message from the Superintendent

What a fantastic start to the school year, Eagles. Together, we have set high standards for academic excellence all over Joplin Schools, and your dedication to these standards has been evident in the outstanding work you've done thus far.

I want to thank the administrators, staff, parents, business partners and PTO members who are working so hard to support attendance initiatives this year. Strong student attendance is a cornerstone of our students' success, and your efforts to promote regular attendance have not gone unnoticed. By being present and engaged in the classroom, our students have a better chance to excel academically and develop important life skills. Your encouragement and support play a vital role in making this possible, so please keep up the good work of encouraging our #EveryDayEagles. Keep talking about it. Keep celebrating it. Every day counts.

I also want to emphasize the importance of teamwork as we continue to support one another in our daily goals. Education is not for the faint of heart, and I continue to see powerful commitment to the cause from staff in every building. Together, we are a formidable force for positive change in the lives of our students and their future opportunities. I hope you'll continue to collaborate, share ideas, and lift each other up as we navigate the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. They say no man is an island, and I'd like to add that no educator is alone - lean into your teams as you work toward your goals.

As we move forward into a busy second quarter, I'm inspired by the progress of our students and staff already this year. Personally, I plan to share those successes all over town in meetings with community members and parents in Focus Groups, Coffee Talks, Civic Organizations, Board Meetings and probably in the grocery store aisles. I'm proud to be an Eagle, and proud to work alongside you all. Have a great fall!

Sincerely,

Kerry Sachetta

Contact Dr. Sachetta

SOAR Transitional Kindergartners

have arrived!

When school started this fall, we welcomed a new cohort of incoming students for a brand new Joplin Schools opportunity: SOAR Transitional Kindergarten! The 5-year-olds who were accepted into SOAR have gotten off to a fantastic start this year, and will gain accelerated learning, growth, and social skills on their way to starting traditional Kindergarten next year as 6-year-olds.Transitional kindergarten sets the stage for a successful educational experience by helping students enter kindergarten at or above grade level, often allowing them to become leaders in their class.

“Oftentimes younger students with no preschool experiences can struggle with the rigorous

routines of school and how to navigate all that happens in a Kindergarten environment,” said Joplin Schools coordinator of elementary curriculum and instruction Libbie Burd. “Transitional Kindergarten is an avenue that can help a subset of students become successful not only in the following year of Kindergarten but also develop confidence and success throughout their entire school career.”

Students were chosen for SOAR enrollment eligibility based on kindergarten screening criteria. Eligibility is partially focused on children with late birthdays – typically in June or July – and those who may not have had access to a preschool education.

Thank you to the Learning Services committee who researched how to begin Transitional Kindergarten in Joplin, and to the staff who are working hard to create a program that will benefit so many of our little Eagles in the coming years. For more information about SOAR, visit our website.

Helpful Hints

Direct Messages

Did you know you can use emoji reactions on Direct Message posts? This is a new feature this month from ParentSquare, and we hope it can help increase parent interaction with little interruption!

For more: ParentSquare DM Reactions

Missing Students

in your app?

If some of your students are not showing up in your ParentSquare account, here are two possible solutions:

Check with your school secretary to be sure contact information is consistent for all of your students in PowerSchool.
In your app or desktop ParentSquare account, click on My Account. Then under Missing kids, schools, or contact info? Click Combine Accounts.

If these solutions aren't successful please reach out to your school secretary or email Communications@JoplinSchools.org for help.

Community Connection

Joplin Family YMCA members and staff recently held a food drive to benefit the JHS food pantry, with more soon to come! Donors so far have delivered hundreds of pounds of food that will go to students in need, available to them right on campus. The food pantry is supported and monitored by several JHS staff and volunteers, including (but not limited to) Shawn DeGraff, Misti Ard, Amy Engelage, Whitney Stahl and Teresa Veith

Cookie Estrada, Joplin Family YMCA CEO, said "The relationship between Joplin Schools and the YMCA has been long-standing for decades. This opportunity allowed us to give back to our wonderful school system."

We are so thankful to our friends at the Joplin Family YMCA, and the JHS staff and students who work to maintain the food pantry. You help our students keep Learning Today for a Better Tomorrow.

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A Home for English Language Learners

The 23-24 academic year marks an important shift for our English Language Learner students, as they became able to attend home schools in their own neighborhood. In previous years, ELL students were gathered at a common school, often far across town from their neighbors.

Since the shift, these students are acclimating to their home schools, surrounded by their neighbors and supported by their new teachers and building staff. And the sense of welcome goes both ways: earlier this fall, a group of staff from Stapleton Elementary were invited to a family's home for hospitality and beautiful henna art.

Thank you to all of the building staff who are learning new ways to interact with multi-lingual families, and to support learning for all.

Thank you from Bright Futures Joplin!

Bright Futures Joplin would like to extend a HUGE THANK YOU to our Joplin Schools staff members for offering to support student needs through this year's new Jeans Day Payroll Deduct Fundraiser!

Thanks to staff generosity, more than $15,000 has been pledged and will go directly to help clothe, feed, and supply our students whose families struggle to provide the basics. To demonstrate, $15,000 would buy almost 4,000 Snack Packs, more than 200 backpacks filled with the full school supply list, or almost 1,500 packages of underwear! In short, our staff members' response to helping our students is making a huge difference this year. Bright Futures continues to seek grants and local donations to offset the increasing needs of our students, and every donation helps.

If you'd like to help support student needs, please visit BrightFuturesJoplin.org to donate or volunteer.

Building Spotlight:

Royal Heights Elementary

Peek into this Joplin Schools campus for a look at what makes them tick. Thanks to Principal Bre Faircloth for the comments below!

Professionally: Royal Heights has placed a major focus on response to intervention (RTI) for the academic school year. Classroom teachers along with our Title One instructors have teamed up together to be more intentional, specific and purposeful when it comes to meeting the needs of our students. As a team, we are able to place our students in small groups with highly qualified teachers and meet all students exactly where they are so that we can continue to close gaps, build a strong foundation of learning and help promote academic success. We strongly believe that this approach will be a support to all students that attend Royal Heights.

Physically: Royal Heights is almost 107 years old and has a long standing tradition of pride. As far back as research will allow, the neighborhood and community around has been extremely involved and very proud of our school. The makeup of Royal Heights accommodates nearly 270 students and still has a warm, small school feel.

Purposefully: At Royal Heights, we believe in always doing what is best for our students. Our goal each day is to meet the emotional, social, physical, psychological and academic needs of the students we serve. It is important that our students come to a school where they feel safe, loved and valued. Our staff is a group of highly qualified teachers who understand the importance of working together to achieve a common goal.

Personally: Royal Heights believes that a strong school family is important. We have monthly staff luncheons to celebrate staff birthdays. Staff members also love a visit from the “WOOT WOOT'' wagon. The WOOT WOOT wagon is a cart with a special treat for staff members. It often makes an appearance during each month to help celebrate all the hard work that our staff has put in. These small things are a fantastic boost during challenging times.