Joplin School District to celebrate Dover Hill Elementary grand opening
JOPLIN, Mo. – Joplin Schools has planned several events to celebrate the grand opening of Dover Hill Elementary School.
A community Open House will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 3, at the school, 1100 N. Main.
Neighbors and community members will be welcomed to tour the school, which opens for classes on Wednesday, Jan. 4.
Joplin Schools staff, and Dover Hill parents and students will be invited to tour the building during additional separate events.
An invitation-only ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 12.
“We are so excited to be opening Dover Hill Elementary for the students, staff, parents and community,” said Joplin Schools superintendent Dr. Kerry Sachetta.
“The new building will address the needs of our students and staff extremely well with the demands of education today. Dover Hill Elementary is another fine example of our community recognizing a need and coming together to support our students’ best interest.”
Construction of the new campus was approved by 79% of Joplin voters during a 2019 bond campaign. Groundbreaking began on April 14, 2021.
The Board of Education’s total approved project cost was $27,079,351.67. Current projections show final construction costs coming in well under budget.
Dover Hill will house 450 students with space for three sections of every grade level. It also offers a Communication/Behavior/Social Skills suite for special education students in need of targeted on-site services.
The building was designed by CGA Architects and the DLR Group, with assistance from Allgeier Martin & Associates. Crossland Construction managed the project.
Principal Architect at CGA Architects, Chad Greer, said he believes architecture should speak to time and place, and Dover Hill is no exception.
“As a Joplin Schools alumni and member of the community,” said Greer, “we are proud of Dover
Hill in the way it captures a historic context with modern touches and how it sits on a prominent and unique location within our community. We are excited for the generations of kids that will experience this new school.”
“In the world of architecture, it seems a rare benefit to have local, vested talent lead a project of this scale,” said CGA Architects Project Designer Christina Williams. Dover Hill will house students from two of Joplin Schools’ previous campuses: West Central Elementary and Columbia Elementary.
Both West Central and Columbia elementary schools were originally built in the late 1920s during a period of updates across the Joplin School District to support the city’s growing educational needs.
The schools each housed kindergarten through fifth grade students who would eventually attend North Middle School. The new location strategically joins these two zones to bring together a population of students who will continue their academic pursuits together while maintaining a neighborhood community.
“We are excited to enter our last phase of integration with the two schools,” said Dover Hill principal Bret Ingle. “Last year we were able to start the collaboration process with staff, and this fall we have been able to bring the students together at two different campuses. Everyone is
looking forward to finally being under one roof.”
During the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, local and regional leaders will be invited to celebrate this new addition to Joplin Schools alongside students and staff.