Just days before a massive tornado devastated their community last May, a group of Joplin, Mo., educators and other community members had a meeting about "21st-century learning." Then May 22 arrived, bringing the catastrophic storm that ripped through the community of 50,000 in the southwest corner of the state. The tornado killed 161 people and destroyed six schools, including the city's sole high school. Three other schools and the district administration building were damaged. One year later, Joplin is preparing to break ground next week--on the anniversary of the tornado--for new facilities that match the school district's ambitions for the education it wants to provide its 7,800 students. The school architecture is just one of the major changes that came to the school district after the tornado hit. Last August, as the first school year after the storm got under way, the district distributed laptops to all of its high school students. The transition was embraced by some staff members and was rocky for others.