Joplin High School

I would not encourage parents to consider sending their children to Joplin High School. The student to teacher ratio is insane. They do have rules just as any other school district, but the lack of enforcing those rules has students doing pretty much as they please. I have seen girls in the school wearing "shorts" that more resemble underwear, and never got in any kind of trouble for it. The attire students are allowed to wear to school is completely unacceptable. That is not preparing our children for life. In no decient work setting would someone be allowed to wear such indecient colthing. Students do not have any sort of structure or dicipline. Another thing is that when your child goes in to highschool from jr. high they are only going to be familiar with about 1/4 of the incoming freshmen because the district is so big.
--Submitted by a parent

i am currently a student at JHS. it is good and bad. i cant emphasize on the good and i cant exactly emphasize on the bad either. as others have said it helps prepare for the future but with a school with that many students there is bound to have issues.
--Submitted by a student

I am a new student of Joplin High School, and this school does not compare to other schools i have been to. The teachers have no reign over the classrooms. The teachers and staff need to be more aware of what is going on around them. I cannot believe how some of these reviews say Joplin is a great school, because in my opinion it is not. I would not reccomend Joplin schools to anyone.
--Submitted by a student

What I loved about Joplin schools is that if you are a college bound student you have the ability to take college style courses that alot of schools don't offer. Joplin schools also seem to continue to get better as the years go by. I am just very happy with the school here, so thankful that even with the size teachers & principles are involved.
--Submitted by a parent

I went to JHS for all four years of my high school career and found it to be a great school. I believe that the principals and staff do everything in their ability to keep JHS a safe and comfortable learning environment. You must understand that with over 2,000 students the school is, and must be, an organized chaos during passing times. The current posts are very old and outdated. Another reason why JHS is such an amazing school is that unlike the standard American high school with rival cliques and bronze versus brains, JHS seems to be a melting pot of people that, for the most part get along! Overall, I found my stay at JHS as a stepping stone for life. It definitely prepared me for my future.
--Submitted by a student

One can go through JHS in so many ways. There are some fabulous teachers (such as spanish with Hagedorn, chemistry with Parker, AP Lit. and Comp. with MacQueeney). There are many chances for a great education, but Joplin is a school where you have to make your own way, because no one inside the school will give you the motivation to go after this type of success. I took many AP classes and worked extremely hard with the aforementioned teachers and am now attending a great northeastern university. Also, there are many extracurricular choices, but you have to get involved! I did track, tennis, and many others, and they were some of my best experiences at the school. Everyone will receive the same diploma upon graduation, but this school is primarily what you make of it and what you personally glean from it.
--Submitted by Jackie, a former student

We aren't particularly impressed with Joplin High, we were told when we moved here that 'Joplin schools herd the students through like cattle' and to some extent that is a true statement. There are some dedicated teachers but there are some safety concerns and we feel the staff needs to be more aware of some of the happenings in the school. We are aware of some happenings regarding student harrassment and would agree with the other review that the principal & staff need to be more diligent in dealing with such issues.......I also feel more emphasis needs to be placed on 'book learning', these students need to be prepared for college & life.
--Submitted by a parent

I am impressed with many of the extracurricular activities. My child is a 4.0 student and is involved with sports and music and theatre. What is discouraging is that there is no attempt to discourage students from harrassing other students. I can afford to send my child to private school, but my child likes Joplin High. I know the legal system and the first time I feel that other student has steppped over the line, I will respond. This type of behavior interferes with education and teachers and coaches need to be more aware. I am not surprised at the drop out rate and student apathy. Have we not learned anything from some of the incidents at schools in recent years?
--Submitted by a parent

Excellent classroom experience for my children but very little interest in their welfare from the principals. Students too easily fall through the cracks at the high school.
--Submitted by a parent

Joplin High School has changed so much since I attended there in the 70's. I have had one daughter graduate from there and another who is a senior there now. The school is great. The counselors need a little more training. The school needs to quit capitalizing on sports and concentrate on book learning.
--Submitted by a parent