75 Classrooms Added to Wentzville Schools This Fall

(The following press release was issued by the .)

In April of 2011, voters in the Wentzville School District approved Proposition 3, a 30 cent tax levy for the purpose of adding the space necessary to sustain the full-day kindergarten program, add middle school classroom space, and build a new high school. This fall thousands of WSD students are benefiting from Proposition 3 construction efforts over the past year, and 75 new classrooms are being used for the first time. District enrollment has increased by over 600 new students again this school year, and the WSD continues to be the fastest growing school district in the state of Missouri. The District has added classrooms at seven different elementary schools and two middle schools, and construction also continues on the new high school. Here is the complete list of Proposition 3 additions:

• - eight new classrooms          
• - eight new classrooms
• - nine new classrooms, six for kindergarten
• - nine new classrooms, six for kindergarten
• - eight new classrooms, three for kindergarten, major parking area expansion
• - four new classrooms, expanded library, relocated computer lab
• - four new classrooms, one for music and one for art
• - five new classrooms, one for choir and one for band, and a new auto loop
• – a new wing with 20 classrooms including four science labs, a cafeteria addition, and a new auto loop
• New high school – Construction continues on schedule on the new high school on Sommers Road, a 227,000 square foot facility that will open for freshmen in the fall of 2013

The addition of kindergarten classrooms has allowed the District to continue offering full-day kindergarten. Now in the third year, full-day kindergarten in the WSD has been an unqualified success. It has allowed us to give our youngest students a great start, both academically and socially. The percentage of students entering first grade reading at or above grade level expectations increased the first year after implementation of the full-day program. The kindergarten and first grade teachers, educators who have seen the changes on a daily basis, report the following:

• Students are able to write complete sentences with capital letters, spacing, and punctuation.
• Students came to first grade knowing all of their sight words, letters, and letter sounds.
• More instructional time is available to teach students in mathematics, science, and social studies.
• Allows more time to meet the individual needs of students.
• Students are prepared for a full day experience. No longer asking “When is it time to go home?”
• Students came in with a better understanding of daily routines.
• Less time has to be spent on basic classroom procedures.

WSD special area teachers, instructing students in Art, Computers, Library, Music, and PE, also noted significant gains by those students who received full-day kindergarten.

“After Wentzville moved to a full-day kindergarten program, I noticed that the first graders were where they should be, their fine motor skills including control over their media (pencil, crayon, paintbrush, etc…) were more developed, and they seemed more used to simply being in school. In short, I could do more with them, and can now better enrich their elementary art experience.” -Sarah Bayless, Art Teacher

“I think full-day kindergarten is fantastic. It allows me, as the librarian, to see the students on a consistent basis, and to more easily establish routines with the students. With regular visits to the library, the students are able to go to the shelves to choose their books earlier in the school year, and they are ready to learn concepts previously reserved for the first grade curriculum. I am so excited to see such huge growth!”-Kelly Oliva, Librarian

The first grade students who participated in full-day kindergarten have “better listening skills, better understanding of directions, of concepts, and of working together.  I see a huge improvement in music class.”- Molly Ragusky, Music Teacher

The real winners in the April 2011 election were the students of the Wentzville School District. The passage of Proposition 3 would not have been possible without the time, talent and tenacity of many members of the WSD community; it was truly a “grass roots” effort. As the fastest growing school district in the state, the WSD can now provide the necessary classroom space for current students. This continues the great forward momentum of the District, and will help to ensure that WSD students continue to achieve at a high level.