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New Head Principal named at Joplin High School

Joplin Schools

JOPLIN, Mo. – Joplin Schools is pleased to announce Dr. Randy Oliver as the next head principal of

Joplin High School.

With more than two decades of school leadership experience, Oliver has most recently served as an

Associate Principal at Van Horn High School in Independence, MO. He previously spent time at West

Platte (MO) School District, North Kansas City (MO) Schools, Ottawa (KS) Public Schools, Atchison

(KS) Public Schools, Park Hill (MO) School District, and Missouri State Schools for Severely Disabled

Students. Since 2008, Dr. Oliver has also served in a part-time capacity with Community Access, a

non-profit organization that works to enable adults with developmental disabilities to thrive in their

communities.

Oliver was named Missouri Assistant Principal of the Year and finalist for NASSP National Assistant

Principal of the Year in 2022. He was nominated for the Culture of Excellence Award for North Kansas

City Schools in 2013; honored as the 2007 – 2008 Area 1 (Greater Kansas City Area) Middle School

Principal of the Year by the Kansas Association of Secondary School Principals; and received the

Governor’s Challenge Award for “significantly closing the achievement gap with a diverse population.”

He currently serves as president of the Greater Kansas City Principals Association and is a member of

the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Having received a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from William Jewell College, Oliver

went on to earn his Master of Arts and Educational Specialist degrees in Educational Administration

from the University of Missouri, Kansas City. He then completed his Doctorate in Education with an

emphasis in Human Resources from the University of Kansas.

“I am very honored to have been selected by the committee, Dr. Sachetta and the Board of Education

to serve Joplin as the next high school principal,” said Dr. Oliver. “Joplin High School has a proud

history of educational excellence as well as many exciting current initiatives. No doubt, the future for

Joplin High School is very bright! I am anxious to meet the students, faculty, parents, and community

and begin our work together on the path of continuous improvement.”

As principal at Joplin High School, Oliver succeeds Dr. Stephen Gilbreth, who will retire at the end of

the 2022-23 school year.

“We are excited about Dr. Oliver’s appointment to be the next principal at Joplin High School,” said

Joplin Schools superintendent Dr. Kerry Sachetta. “His experiences at large high schools have

prepared him with the skills necessary to work with our fine staff to continue to improve services for

students. In addition, his work with school improvement in different settings make him an ideal

candidate. Dr. Oliver has worked with secondary students of all ages, so he understands their

challenges and what it takes for success.”

Since 2017 Fred Fletcher-Fierro has driven up Highway 171 through thunderstorms, downpours, snow, and ice storms to host KRPS’s Morning Edition. He’s also a daily reporter for the station, covering city government, elections, public safety, arts, entertainment, culture, sports and more. Fred has also spearheaded and overseen a sea change in programming for KRPS from a legacy classical station to one that airs a balance of classical, news, jazz, and cultural programming that better reflects the diverse audience of the Four States. For over two months in the fall of 2022 he worked remotely with NPR staff to relaunch krps.org to an NPR style news and information website.