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getting back on track in joplin [Virginian - Pilot](Virginian - Pilot Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) By Alan Scher Zagier The Associated Press JOPLIN, MO. Seniors and juniors are taking classes in a converted big-box store. Freshmen and sophomores are in a building across town. The new middle school is in an industrial park. Across Joplin, the schools are still a jumble, with books, computer monitors and unassembled furniture littering unfamiliar hallways. But as classes resumed Wednesday, students and teachers welcomed the start of another year as a return to something normal - or what passes for normal in a city crippled in the spring by the nation's single deadliest tornado in six decades. "You can't pretend like nothing happened," English teacher Brenda White said. "But everything is so new here. Every single thing that is this school is new and different." The twister killed 160 people, injured hundreds more, and destroyed thousands of buildings, including Joplin's only public high school. After months of cleaning up debris, attending funerals and trying to rebuild shattered lives, it was time to get back to pop quizzes and homework assignments. "It's going to take a while to build everything back, but books are a good start," White said while stocking her classrooms with copies of "The Great Gatsby" and other literary standards. The school system was hit especially hard by the May 22 tornado. Seven students and one employee were among the victims, including a senior pulled from his car by winds on his way home from the Joplin High School graduation ceremony. Six school buildings were destroyed, and seven others were badly damaged. District leaders quickly realized that they would play a huge role in Joplin's recovery, for reasons symbolic as much as practical. They expanded the hours and locations of summer school in an effort to give children a reassuring routine - and their parents the time to deal with insurance agents, contractors and social service agencies. They cobbled together a hodgepodge of temporary locations for fall classes, from the an old Shopko store to a former Missouri Department of Transportation office where the superintendent and other administrators now work. Rival elementary schools combined, and a middle school found space in an industrial park. The swiftness of the transformation was striking, White said. "I've always known people are strong here. But this has really brought it home," she said. "They just get up, dust off and go to work. That's what we do here." (c) 2011 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |