Help Us Cross the Finish Line
Investing in Community, Student Athletics, & Fitness Through TJ’s Track
The TJ Mission
Through a dedication to academic excellence, Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School stands accountable for educating students to make the most of their abilities.
The School educates students to acquire and refine essential academic knowledge and skills; cultivate an appreciation of the arts; develop lifelong fitness skills; assume responsibility for their behavior; seek out challenge, welcome criticism, test new capacities; practice self-discipline; and find joy in learning.
The school brings students together with teachers who exemplify intellectual curiosity, a dedication to truth, and the advantages of living the examined life.
Meeting a Need
For the first time in TJ’s 33-year history, our track had to be taken down to the dirt. Slow, shifting soil required jackhammering old asphalt, regrading the ground, and laying a new base.
Far beyond resurfacing, TJ’s track maintenance budget was exhausted.
Using school funds, we have already paid in full for the demolition, removal, grading, and new asphalt.
To cross the finish line, we need to raise $275,000 to complete the resurfacing and striping.
The need reaches beyond our campus, as Joplin only has three regulation-sized tracks (two at Missouri Southern State University, and one at the Dewey Combs Athletic Complex at Junge Field).
The track completion would allow us to host track meets for the greater Four States community.
The need for our track completion has fallen during the most successful stretch in our track and field program’s history.
Four of our seven all-time individual or relay state championships have come in the last two years.
The TJ Boys track and field team finished the 2026 season as the State Class 2 runner-up.
Across the program’s history, TJ has produced 29 All-State athletes, seven state championships, 20 top-three state finishes, and 60 top-eight finishes.
Three of our four current state champions will be graduating in 2027, and we’d love to have the track completed by the start of their senior season.
Additionally, the track serves as an anchor-point for our school community, providing space for P.E. classes and field day events across all grade levels.
Become a Champion
We are naming each of the eight lanes of the J.P. Humphreys Track & Field Complex track after a “Champion” Partner.
As a respected community leader, we are inviting you and your organization to join us at the $25,000 level.
A $25,000 Champion Partnership includes:
A named lane, commemorated in signage at the entrance of the J.P. Humphreys Track & Field Complex
An invitation to a special ribbon-cutting celebration and photo-op
Recognition in our press release and social media
Banner signage on the Complex fence for at least three academic years (seen at every home track and soccer event).
Gifts may be paid in full or pledged and paid in installments over three years (July 2026-June 2029).
TJ is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit, and your gift is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
(Gifts above or below $25,000 are deeply welcome, and we’re glad to tailor recognition to your level of support.)
Community Impact
Your partnership:
Meets a real need for a local educational institution and nonprofit organization
Promotes health, fitness, and community
Unlocks opportunities for our students and area athletes
Puts your organization’s name in front of the TJ and greater Four States community for years to come
Thank you for your consideration!
Help Us Cross the Finish Line
thletics, & Fitness Through TJ’s Track
