1814 Empire Ave
Joplin, MO 64804

This school has horrible placement for classes. They emphasize their Technology center but do not apply admission to it evenly across the board. Students can be failing multiple subjects and still be admitted while others with consistent A & B grades can be completely denied. The school imposes a study tract of what THEY think your student should be. If they can get kids shunted to the local collages then it looks better for them. They are more beholden to the community investors than the actual kids. If you can get in, there are great teachers and programs to be a part of. But if you don't tic the right buttons - they won't do much to help you, or they'll make promises they won't keep. I loved the Joplin School District but the experiences my family has had with this high school has put the final nail in the coffin on my hope for public education in this area.

I went to this school, it was horrible. The principals didn't do anything when I was sexually assaulted in the locker room even though there were witnesses, they only made it so we couldn't be in the same room. Some teachers were great and made it better, but a lot of the teachers were rude, didn't care about teaching at all, discriminated against LGBTQ+ students and their pronouns/names, there were multiple fights, and a lot of the students are druggies. There are vape and drug exchanges happening, and yet they are so convinced that only some students need to get in trouble. If you get in trouble once they immediately decide that you will always be a troublemaker, and won't listen to you if you didn't do anything wrong. One of the teachers completely ignored me when I was having a severe panic attack and almost passed out. The school is also in a VERY unsafe neighborhood, and we would often be kept inside to be safe. There were SWAT vans occasionally, and SEVERAL weird people around the buildings. The play directors say that the higher the grade, the better the role in the play, but it's a complete lie. They pick favorites and don't even bother choosing someone more deserving of a role. If you have special needs or a learning disability, the teachers almost NEVER help and completely ignore your needs. This school is one of the worst schools I've been to and has left me with severe trauma, trust issues, and a constant feeling of being in danger.

2nd year with our son at cecil and it's been great, he has the best teacher I could ask for my 1st grader! Thank you Mrs. Sebastian you are the greatest! The rest of the staff works hard to do what's best for the children, which means they are constantly improving And working. I think each school has it's faults that are easy to focus on but the wonderful staff get overlooked when that's all you look at. Keep to the great work and thanks. An appreciative parent.