Joplin students and teachers are back in class less than three months after the country’s single deadliest tornado in six decades cut their school year short.

A buzz of anticipation filled the halls Wednesday morning at Joplin High’s upper school, a converted big-box retail store at the
city’s mall. Freshmen and sophomores met across town in another building after the city’s only public high school was destroyed.

Other makeshift locations include a middle school in an industrial park and the district offices in a former state transportation department office.

The tornado’s 160 victims included seven students and one school district worker. Six school buildings including Joplin High were
destroyed, and four more were damaged.