Joel E. Barber presents district update at Rotary Club luncheon

Joel E. Barber has seen significant growth in the past two years, according to Principal Kyle Starnes and other administrators who spoke during Thursday’s Rotary Club meeting. They and district students shared updates on their district. These updates included building improvements as well as student and teacher population growth. The school’s student council officers shared their interpretations of Joel E. Barber’s mission statement, helped share data and informed Rotarians on where they were going to attend high school. The district explained that students had the choice of attending any high school in the county or in a neighboring county. Two thirds of students attend Lebanon High School, one third attend Conway High School, and one student attends Camdenton High School. The four students present all planned on attending LHS, with two citing the activities program as their reasoning, one based on her decision to pursue a medical career, and one at the discretion of his family. In a two-year retrospective on the district, Starnes highlighted the additions of a new administrative team, assistant principal and additional teachers to support the increase in student population, which Superintendent Rachelle Jennings said was around 109 students. Regarding facility upgrades, Starnes noted bathroom renovations, a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) library, FEMA shelter upgrades, baseball and football lighting, and playground fencing have all been implemented. For more on this story, see Saturday's LCR.