Joplin High School is a comprehensive public high school in Joplin, Jasper County, Missouri, USA. The first high school was founded in 1885. JHS has a student population of almost 2,200 students in grades 9-12. Joplin High School is fully accredited by AdvancED and North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Joplin High School is also a designated Missouri A+ School of Excellence. Franklin Technology Center, a vocational and technical education school, offers secondary and adult education classes.HistoryIn 1885, Joplin High School began with just a few students and was located where the current Memorial Hall now stands on 8th and Joplin Ave. In 1888, three years later, diplomas were awarded for the first graduating class. Soon thereafter, as the population of Joplin grew around the start of the 20th century, so did the number of students graduating annually.In 1911 the students built a biplane and on October 11, 1911 Harold Robinson piloted the plane and it crashed killing a bystander, James Kinney.In the early of days of public secondary education, not everyone attended high school. However, with the comprehensive high school movement and expanded curriculum offerings in the early 1900s many students persisted with their education.Following the inception of Joplin High School in 1885, there was one public high school until 1933. However, from 1934 to 1956 Joplin had two public high schools. In addition to the program offered at Joplin Senior High School, Lincoln High School offered African-American students a high school education. In the late 1950s, Lincoln High School students joined up with Joplin Senior High School students and attended school together at the present location at 2104 Indiana Avenue.
