Good Afternoon Joplin High School Eagles Family!

Last week was another great week at JHS. This is the time of year where we start to see a little fatigue in our students. My message to them is to finish the year strong. We have 5 weeks remaining in the school year for underclassmen, and only 3 weeks left for Seniors.

If there is anything you ever need, please feel free to call me at 417.625.5230 or email me at randyoliver@joplinschools.org. I would like to remind our students to WORK HARD, BE KIND, and GO EAGLES!

Your Proud Principal,

Dr. Oliver 

Mrs. Santillan is one of our wonderful Art teachers here at JHS. She is Joplin through and through. A proud graduate of Joplin High School, Lacey didn’t discover her love for art until her senior year in high school. Once she did, there was no turning back. She attended Missouri Southern State University as an Art major and had the opportunity to travel overseas with the art department. Experiencing art and culture around the world helped her realize that teaching art, and sharing that perspective with students was exactly where she was meant to be. She later earned her Master’s in Secondary Education from Pittsburg State University and added an Art certification through MSSU, allowing her to teach dual credit courses.

Lacey graduated from college in December of 2010 and accepted a position at JHS that memorable spring of 2011. Her experience living through the tornado was very impactful on her life and she went into her first year teaching hoping to help students recover just like she was recovering. Her first year was one for the books being right after the tornado, she served at the 9-10 campus where one to one was just getting started as well. Now in her 15th year, Lacey teaches Ceramics, Sculpture, and Art Survey 3D (Intro to Art). She often says, “If I made it through a tornado, I can make it through high schoolers.”

Lacey is married to her high school sweetheart. They have two children—a 7th grader at North Middle School, Nico and a 2nd grader at Cecil Floyd Elementary, Luci. Both sides of their family are large, so much of her free time is spent enjoying family gatherings and activities. Personally, Lacey loves to read, create, and bead. She incorporates traditional beading inspired by her Native American heritage. She also loves to create right alongside her students making model examples for her students. 

Retirement, in her mind, will never mean slowing down. She dreams of opening a pottery studio, traveling more, creating art, and possibly helping with future grandkids. Whatever the next chapter holds, it will absolutely include art and creativity.

Nicholas Pfeifer is our Head Boys Basketball and serves as a PE teacher. He grew up in Carthage and following high school graduation, played college soccer at Newman University. After he earned his degree in Social Studies, he began his teaching career in Carthage, he then spent 10 years teaching in Erie, Kansas, and is now in his 4th year here at Joplin. 

For most of his career, Coach Pfeifer taught Social Studies, but since coming to JHS he has stepped into serving in the PE department. This is his 3rd year our head boys basketball coach. While he previously coached soccer and basketball in Carthage, he discovered he enjoys coaching basketball the most. 

Coach Pfeifer comes from a big family with six siblings and a strong background in education and coaching—his grandfather and mother were teachers, and several uncles are coaches. He and his wife, Allie, have been married for 10 years. They were high school classmates who reconnected later in life. Together they have three children: two girls (ages 7 and 3) and a 9-year-old boy in the middle. Family time and work takes up most of his time. His family loves being outdoors and traveling. A lot of his time is also spent attending his kids’ activities—dance, basketball, and soccer. 

Retirement for Coach Pfeifer looks like visiting historic sporting venues and attending major sporting events, though he jokes that whether his wife joins him for all of those trips is still to be determined.

Starting in January 2026, all Joplin High School students will have the opportunity to receive dedicated, in-school support services to help them Level Up their academic success in the classes and subjects they need it most. Level Up options will fill the former Transitions period, and will be offered every day of the week.

Level Up is designed to help students improve grades, build skills, and stay on track for graduation before small problems become large obstacles. The time is focused on individual growth and success, not punishment. We understand that everyone needs support sometimes, even when the grade card shows an A or a B, and Level Up is designed to meet those needs right in the middle of the school day, without asking students to come early or stay late for tutoring. The goal is effectively to help students take ownership of their own learning so they can Level Up their academics.

This is a 30-minute session that provides focused help on a SPECIFIC LEARNING STANDARD. Students will work with a teacher to relearn, practice, and retest to master a specific standard in a specific content area.

This is 30 minutes of structured time for students who have a D or an F to work with a teacher to improve their grades, complete missing work, retake assessments, and get help.

This is a 30-minute reward period for students who are meeting expectations and mastering standards as expected. Students can choose from a variety of non-classroom locations to socialize, get ahead on work, read, or relax.

Monday, April 20, 2026 - Regular Bell Schedule

Tuesday, April 21, 2026 - Regular Bell Schedule

Wednesday, April 22, 2026 - Regular Bell Schedule

Thursday, April 23, 2026 - ODD Block Schedule

Friday, April 24, 2026 - EVEN Block Schedule (2nd Hour, 4th Hour, Transitions, 6th with food trucks) - ALL SCHOOL Staff vs Students Volleyball & Basketball Game)

Attention Seniors and Senior Parents / Guardians, please see the link below. This will take you to some timely information for all Seniors in the Class of 2026.

Link for Class of 2026 Graduates to Apply for Scholarships:

Every year thousands of dollars of scholarship money is awarded to JHS seniors for their post-high school plans. Now is the time to begin checking the JHS Scholarship website and get those applications in! The dates listed on the site are the due dates, but start early and get those applications in NOW! 

“Learning without thought is a labor lost, thought without learning is perilous.” – Confucius