JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden is set to speak at the dedication of a combined high school and vocational school that replaces one destroyed by a deadly tornado in Joplin more than three years ago.

Biden will be joined by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan for the Friday ceremony at the Joplin High School/Franklin Technology Center.

Half of Joplin’s schools were damaged or destroyed in the tornado that killed 161 people and flattened thousands of homes and businesses.

Construction of the new high school was the last of the district’s major rebuilding projects. It opened Sept. 2.

Students, parents and others at the dedication plan to try to set a world record for the longest ribbon used in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The planned 6.5-mile ribbon symbolizes the tornado’s path through Joplin.