The costliest tornado in U.S. history descended without warning on the small community of Joplin, Missouri, USA, on May 22, 2011. People across the country watched the devastation on TV and YouTube. But the thousands of students and staff of Joplin School District lived through it. Recognizing the need to restore normalcy throughout the community, Superintendent C.J. Huff steadfastly committed to opening Joplin's schools by the originally scheduled 2011-2012 school year start date of August 17. It was a difficult feat by any means. But what makes this story truly remarkable is that, even with such an incredibly short turnaround and long list of challenges, Joplin Schools did not simply rebuild in the image of its former self. Instead, they seized the opportunity to become even better by implementing a one-to-one initiative, complete with a new all-digital curriculum.