Trailers at 3 Schools to be Eliminated

Overcrowded trailers at three Joplin elementary schools will soon be things of the past. Eastmorland, McKinley, and Stapleton elementary schools currently use trailers to house various classes and programs due to lack of space in the main buildings, but the district is planning to build new classroom additions at these schools to eliminate the need for trailers.

"The trailers are overcrowded and inherently unsafe," says Superintendent Dr. Jim Simpson. "They are located away from the main building which presents the possibility of an intruder getting into a trailer without the rest of the school staff knowing it."

Another concern is the amount of traveling required between trailers and the main school buildings which results in lost learning time. "We make twelve trips a day back and forth with the kids no matter what the weather," says Terri Greek, a reading and math teacher at McKinley Elementary. "At five minutes a trip, the kids and myself lose an hour a day."

Inside the trailers, it is not uncommon for three or four teachers and groups to be working simultaneously inside a single room. It makes for a noisy and cramped learning environment despite teachers' attempts to alleviate distractions with shelving and other makeshift partitions.

Greek and fellow teachers are excited about the planned classroom additions. "I am elated that the district has recognized and taken responsibility to improve the teaching conditions that are so badly needed by many students and teachers," she says.

In addition to eliminating trailers, the new classrooms will create a place for other teachers who currently utilize less-than-adequate locations throughout the schools. The plan will provide space for teachers who are now in unsuitably small rooms, in hallways, in the library, on the stage, and in other make-do locations. Safety will be increased with improved traffic patterns, redesigned entrances, and the addition of a small office for police to do paperwork in during the day.

The three additions will cost approximately 6.1 million dollars, to be paid from the district's savings. District officials expect construction to be completed in early spring 2008.

(posted Dec. 2006)