In this session, Dr. CJ Huff, former superintendent of Joplin Schools, will discuss a challenge he had to address in the spring of 2010. He was tasked with getting the graduation rate up. Like so many communities across the nation, many Joplin students struggled with poverty and often a lack of parental involvement. Teachers spent much of their time and often their own money trying to meet students’ basic needs. Low graduation rates were identified as a community issue and not just a school issue. This session will discuss the community efforts to ensure its citizens flourished and thrived.