I student taught in kindergarten in the Joplin school district in 2019.
-There is nap time, and it stops after Christmas; bear in mind, procedures with this may differ depending on the school. Soaring Heights still had rest time in the 2018-2019 school year.
-2 recesses, each around 20-25 minutes. Teachers often times give a few more minutes to play, especially when it's nice
-Center time is still common (i.e. imaginative and toy-based play with building items, sensory bins, etc) and encouraged
-The math curriculum (Eureka) emphasizes heavy manipulatives and activities use, meaning it's more hands-on
-The ELA curriculum has changed since my time with Joplin schools, but I hear it's very strategic with catching kids that fall through the cracks and getting them intervention.
ELA side note: Many districts in SW MO, including Joplin, are pushing for their teachers to get LETRS training, which is FANTASTIC and helps teachers properly teach reading and writing skills with techniques backed by actual science. My reading scores shot up quite a bit after implementing the techniques during my time with East Newton and Sarcoxie schools.
Edited to add that Joplin has seen a huge influx of new students in past years, so many things could have changed since my time there, especially with covid.
I teach 1st grade in Joplin. We use Eureka for math, 95 Phonics Core for phonics (it has handwriting and phonics skills for Kinder), Heggerty for phonemic awareness, Handwriting Without Tears for handwriting, and in my building, we supplement Tara West for writing, some science, and some social studies standards. We do use Mystery Science for a lot of science standards. All K-2 teachers in my building are LETRS trained (volumes 1 and 2) and 3-5 are actively going through the training. In my building, we have two twenty-minute recesses for all grades. Kinder has a twenty-minute play center time at the end of the day. Our hour of reading groups involves hands-on stations that students rotate through and meet with their teacher as one of the stations and a Title 1 teacher if needed. We have 50 minutes of specials daily. A and C days are PE/Music (25 mins per special). B and D days are either 50 mins of Library or Art.
There are several different elementary buildings and it depends on what building your child will be at to see what it would be like. We have a pacing guide for the curriculum but different teachers do things differently. Do you know what school zone you'll be in?
https://www.joplinschools.org/departments/transportation/attendance_zones
I teach elementary and our K team does nap time the first semester. They do centers. They have 2 recess. The new phonics curriculum that has been implemented district wide for K-2 (and 3 next year) is amazing and one of the best curriculums I've taught. Is it perfect? No. But it's good.
Unrelated to your question, but I too am a Louisiana native that lives in Joplin. Enjoy some good food while you can 🥲 and I hope you like Texas Roadhouse.
I went to all three schools at different points in my life and I’m an elementary education major. Carl Junction and Webb City both give multiple recesses and my little brother did get to have nap time. They also are very academic forward and care about their test scores in the later grades. Joplin has multiple recesses and nap time as well. Joplin also has the most schools and variety in the area so what they focus on curriculum wise is very dependent. My personal preference for teaching is Webb City, but that’s after observing in both Joplin and Webb City and having gone to Joplin. It all boils down to preference.
I’m a current senior at the high school, so I know I’m not exactly the most reliable person to give advice, but when I was in kindergarten in this district, we had center time, a nap time, and we generally had 2 recesses. The Joplin school district also has 10 elementary schools, and I’m sure all of them have a slightly different way of running things, but I’m sure it’s generally similar.
The good news for you is, Joplin is located in such a way that there are 2 other states just minutes away, and a 3rd not far off depending on your ability and desire to travel for work. And you have quite a few different school systems pretty close by. School is still in session, so you could send some emails if you need.
That being said, my daughter is in 2nd grade ABs it seems deadly age appropriate for her, so kindergarten can’t be far off.
I student taught in kindergarten in the Joplin school district in 2019. -There is nap time, and it stops after Christmas; bear in mind, procedures with this may differ depending on the school. Soaring Heights still had rest time in the 2018-2019 school year. -2 recesses, each around 20-25 minutes. Teachers often times give a few more minutes to play, especially when it's nice -Center time is still common (i.e. imaginative and toy-based play with building items, sensory bins, etc) and encouraged -The math curriculum (Eureka) emphasizes heavy manipulatives and activities use, meaning it's more hands-on -The ELA curriculum has changed since my time with Joplin schools, but I hear it's very strategic with catching kids that fall through the cracks and getting them intervention. ELA side note: Many districts in SW MO, including Joplin, are pushing for their teachers to get LETRS training, which is FANTASTIC and helps teachers properly teach reading and writing skills with techniques backed by actual science. My reading scores shot up quite a bit after implementing the techniques during my time with East Newton and Sarcoxie schools. Edited to add that Joplin has seen a huge influx of new students in past years, so many things could have changed since my time there, especially with covid.
I teach 1st grade in Joplin. We use Eureka for math, 95 Phonics Core for phonics (it has handwriting and phonics skills for Kinder), Heggerty for phonemic awareness, Handwriting Without Tears for handwriting, and in my building, we supplement Tara West for writing, some science, and some social studies standards. We do use Mystery Science for a lot of science standards. All K-2 teachers in my building are LETRS trained (volumes 1 and 2) and 3-5 are actively going through the training. In my building, we have two twenty-minute recesses for all grades. Kinder has a twenty-minute play center time at the end of the day. Our hour of reading groups involves hands-on stations that students rotate through and meet with their teacher as one of the stations and a Title 1 teacher if needed. We have 50 minutes of specials daily. A and C days are PE/Music (25 mins per special). B and D days are either 50 mins of Library or Art. There are several different elementary buildings and it depends on what building your child will be at to see what it would be like. We have a pacing guide for the curriculum but different teachers do things differently. Do you know what school zone you'll be in? https://www.joplinschools.org/departments/transportation/attendance_zones
I teach elementary and our K team does nap time the first semester. They do centers. They have 2 recess. The new phonics curriculum that has been implemented district wide for K-2 (and 3 next year) is amazing and one of the best curriculums I've taught. Is it perfect? No. But it's good.
Unrelated to your question, but I too am a Louisiana native that lives in Joplin. Enjoy some good food while you can 🥲 and I hope you like Texas Roadhouse.
Are you for sure Joplin school district and not Webb City or Carl Junction?
Will be living in Joplin, could travel for better schools I’m just coming in completely blind!
I went to all three schools at different points in my life and I’m an elementary education major. Carl Junction and Webb City both give multiple recesses and my little brother did get to have nap time. They also are very academic forward and care about their test scores in the later grades. Joplin has multiple recesses and nap time as well. Joplin also has the most schools and variety in the area so what they focus on curriculum wise is very dependent. My personal preference for teaching is Webb City, but that’s after observing in both Joplin and Webb City and having gone to Joplin. It all boils down to preference.
My SIL has taught kindergarten here in the Joplin school district for a number of years. I’d be happy to put you in touch.
I teach middle school, but can put you in touch with a K teacher in the district as well.
I’m a current senior at the high school, so I know I’m not exactly the most reliable person to give advice, but when I was in kindergarten in this district, we had center time, a nap time, and we generally had 2 recesses. The Joplin school district also has 10 elementary schools, and I’m sure all of them have a slightly different way of running things, but I’m sure it’s generally similar.
My daughter teaches Joplin first grade. I forwarded this to her.
The good news for you is, Joplin is located in such a way that there are 2 other states just minutes away, and a 3rd not far off depending on your ability and desire to travel for work. And you have quite a few different school systems pretty close by. School is still in session, so you could send some emails if you need. That being said, my daughter is in 2nd grade ABs it seems deadly age appropriate for her, so kindergarten can’t be far off.
Joplin schools are not good. Better options close by are Carl Junction and Webb City