Joplin High School has wider hallways than the original, and though it still has a central commons area, it is split over two levels and features distinct spaces, such as a student-run coffee bar with booths and tables on the lower level. “When it is not crowded, it is easy for the kids to move throughout the building.” “Anytime you are in a crowded scenario, tensions arise and people get nervous and anxious,” Eggleston says. Within one year of opening, disciplinary incidents dropped more than 50 percent and the dropout rate fell 25 percent. Credit: Alistair TuttonĬreated by Corner Greer and DLR Group, the new building puts a premium on student experience and offers a variety of social spaces, resulting in a drop-off in unwelcome student interactions. Those concepts melt away in the new design. He recalls seniors sitting on the “senior bench” waiting for freshmen to step on the school’s eagle logo just so they could bully them.Ĭoncentrating students in just a few common areas, such as the single big lunchroom, which was intended to control conflict, actually made it worse. There are multiple opportunities for kids to learn, for kids to socialize when not in class and have a different space other than a classroom.”Ĭhad Greer of Corner Greer & Associates says he remembers attending the original Joplin High School, a traditional double-loaded corridor design that funneled all students into one area for non-academic times. “They are having conversations, studying, working on projects. “You come here before school and the kids are spread out throughout the building, in different spaces,” says Brandon Eggleston, principal of 2,100-student Joplin High. Opened in 2014, the three-story building shows off a fresh approach to dealing with the crowds that come with large schools, giving students room to roam in unique, flexible areas, rather than stuffing them into huge, jam-packed spaces that can cause stress, anxiety, and behavioral issues. A tornado ripping through Joplin, Missouri, in 2011 brought immediate tragedy and destruction.īut it also birthed a fresh start for the community’s students, an opportunity for a newly designed high school to improve the way kids feel at school, interact with peers, and handle tense situations.
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