Unlikely post-twister helper for Joplin schools
On Sunday, May 22, a typical spring day turned deadly in tight-knit Joplin, Mo. when a massive F-5 tornado hit, killing 160 people and leaving thousands homeless.
The storm system blew off rooftops and knocked giant holes into buildings, flooded the streets, and completely obliterated entire neighborhoods. It left a horrific path of destruction seven miles long and nearly three-quarters of a mile wide.
Four schools were destroyed, forcing the district to cancel classes for the remainder of the school year.
But this week, Joplin got good news, when Mo. Gov. Jay Nixon announced the state will provide $1.5 million to aid the city's schools.
And, to help ease high school students into their new building, the embassy of the United Arab Emirates donated $500,000, so more than 2,000 students can have their own laptops.
"It's amazing," says Ashley Micklethwaite, president of the Joplin School Board. "It's so humbling that a country all the way around the world thought enough about Joplin and Joplin schools and education to reach out to us and say, 'We'd like to help."'
On "The Early Show on Saturday Morning," co-anchor Rebecca Jarvis reported on the Joplin disaster, then got an update on the city's progress from Mayor Mike Woolston and Dr. C.J. Huff, the superintendent of the Joplin School District: