The first anniversary of the school community coming together to surmount the Herculean task of repairing the Poplar Bluff Kindergarten Center, just 129 days after the devastating tornado caused $6.7 million in building damage, was commemorated by emergency management on Saturday, March 14.
To share with other education leaders how the feat was accomplished, R-I school officials have been asked to present about the recovery efforts on two occasions, first over the summer on behalf of the Missouri School Boards’ Association, and again in January before the Missouri United School Insurance Council.
“In my mind, our school district and community experienced an unprecedented time where obstacles weren’t an option, and as a result we were able to move mountains,” stated Charles Kinsey, R-I assistant superintendent of business.
Classes were only disrupted for two weeks before temporary accommodations were established to finish out the school year in alternative locations – with kindergartners relocating to Mark Twain School, while non-traditional students moved to the Tinnin Fine Arts Center, thanks to the generosity of Three Rivers College, despite the community college itself suffering millions in losses.
School social workers determined that 770 Poplar Bluff students were affected by storm damage, plus a couple of hundred staff members were either directly impacted or had loved ones whose homes were hit. While clean-up efforts commenced, Chartwells served over 32,700 free curbside meals to the community, including those provided during the district’s child care service offering to families displaced, reported Hope Vaughn, R-I food services director.
By the time school was able to resume March 31 of last year, ServPro had mitigated the water damage, and Cotton Global Disaster Solutions installed a temporary roof over the Kindergarten structure. The Board of Education approved Zoellner Construction to serve as general contractor, enabling materials – including 60,000 square feet of metal for the roof – to be ordered early to avoid supply delays. Collaborating with Dille and Pollard Architecture on the original building design, Zoellner prioritized the job – with crews working six days a week, even adding Sundays toward the final stretch.
According to the registrar's office, a total of 65 families enrolled their students at the Kindergarten Center once R-I Superintendent Dr. Aaron Cornman was able to formally announce students would be able to return to the Camp Road facility following a walkthrough with contractors and architects on July 21, one month prior to the first day. Teachers moved into their classrooms after a substantial completion inspection was conducted Aug. 8.
“Open house [Aug. 19] was kind of our, ‘OK, we can do this. Tomorrow we’re gonna have 350 kids walk in the door, and we’re ready,’” said Christy Young, Kindergarten Center principal. “Just knowing that our kids and our parents can come in together on that first day—had we been at Mark Twain, that wouldn’t have happened. And that was important to me. I’m a mom first.”
During the evening of the EF-3 tornado, Young, who lives in Butler County, decided it would be safer to hunker down at the Kindergarten Center, remembering wind damage that occurred on Highway M the previous year. She parked her new vehicle under the front overhang, since it was raining, and was doing late-night work in her office while listening to local weather reports.
When hail began to sound, she moved away from the windows toward the conference room, before strolling down the west hall, that would soon be devastated, momentarily entering the classroom of her daughter Bailey Beard, then occupational therapist in the same building. “For some reason I had a sense—I don’t know what it was—to get in the bathroom. I did not even have the bathroom door shut; that’s how close [the funnel cloud] was,” Young recalled.
The 145-mile-per-hour winds tore the entire east wing roof structure apart, taking out all mechanical systems in the building. In addition, minor damage at the adjoining Early Childhood Center was sustained, and more isolated roof destruction at O’Neal and Eugene Field, with some electrical power surge issues at Oak Grove.
“It was just so loud. It shook the building a little bit. The power goes out. It lasted just 30, 40 seconds,” Young remembered. “I open the door a little bit and could hear water running. It was very dark. The emergency lights had come on. I couldn’t even see my car or how to get out. Panic kind of set in.”
Her Nissan Rogue was totaled under the dilapidated awning. Young called Kristie Robinson, Oak Grove principal, who along with husband Scott, packed a chainsaw and other tools, not knowing what to expect. They were uncertain whether it was just high winds or Young actually experienced a tornado, as she had suggested over the phone.
“They arrived. It was the first time I’d been outside. It’s pitch black—no stars. I can hear sirens. Light poles were down out back. I still couldn’t see the mass destruction that really had happened here,” Young continued. “I returned the next day, and realized the roof was gone. It occurred that morning, ‘We’re not going back this year.’ I said, ‘OK, it’s time to strap on your boots and come up with a plan to keep the kids and staff together.’”
The ensuing weeks blurred together for Young, just a first-year principal, yet the road to recovery would be paved by countless good deeds, too numerous to tally, from businesses, churches, organizations, neighboring school districts, elected officials, coworkers and patrons offering donations, in many cases replenishing supplies that educators had not yet realized were lost. Internal repairs continued into the first semester, including the installation of tile flooring, cabinetry and furniture as the 2025/26 school year outwardly resumed normal for students.
“As a staff, I do think that through the tornado, and through the moves and all of that, we became closer,” reflected Young, who was finally able to take her first vacation last week over spring break. “To be leading through the storm literally, it grew me as a leader and brought out some qualities in myself that I didn’t know I had.”
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Cutline: Kindergarten students and staff gather to say thank you for prioritizing repairing their building on Tuesday, March 3, 2026.