jtroutman@cassville-democrat.com
Area schools opened their doors for the 2023-2024 school year at the end of August, and staff ready to take on the school year.
Trish Wilson, Wheaton superintendent, said the Wheaton school district is up 17 students from the previous school year.
The largest class is the fifth grade with 40 students enrolled, and the smallest class is second grade with 25 students enrolled.
“Current enrollment in the elementary is 247,” she said. “Junior high and high school are at 182. This is up 17 from last May.
“It is always nice to see enrollment stay consistent or increase.”
Wilson said the bus routes are very similar to last year.
“We have, of course, added several pick-ups and drop-offs with the increased enrollment,” she said. “All our drivers are seeing fuller buses this year.”
In addition, Wheaton has 11 new teachers district-wide and three new elementary paraprofessionals; one K-12 grade music teacher, nine new elementary teachers; and one new position, career education, in junior high/high school.
“[The focus on the first few days of school was] getting students to and from school safely, and begin building positive relationships with students, parents and staff with each other,” Wilson said. “This has been a very smooth start to the school year, and we welcome all our new staff.
“It has been amazing to see all the work our staff did prior to their contracted time. They worked hard to have welcoming and positive environments for their students to walk into on that first day.”
Wilson said this year she is most excited about seeing students and staff use the new facilities.
“We had our welcome-back-to-school staff meeting in our new safe room, which is also our new kitchen and cafeteria,” she said. “Our food service staff served their first breakfast out of the new kitchen to all staff. Students and staff are enjoying breakfast and lunch in this new facility.
“Our new field house is also being used by our elementary PE classes and junior high boys’ and girls’ basketball have been using it for practices,” she said. “Wheaton has watched these building projects being built throughout last year, and it is so exciting to see them being used and enjoyed.
“The safe room also brings about peace of mind for the staff and community if/ when we have storms in the area.”
Tim Jordan, Exeter superintendent, said the largest class this year in the elementary building is first grade with 32 students, and for high school, the ninth grade is the largest with 34 students.
The smallest class in elementary is third grade with 14 students, and in high school, it is 11th grade with 25 students.
“[In] elementary, kindergarten and fifth grade have added the most new students, however the overall grade numbers have not fluctuated much, if any,” Jordan said. “High school and middle school have increased more than expected. We have enrolled 12 new students for grades 9-12 and 11 new students in grades 6-8.”
On the first day, there were 156 students in kindergarten through fifth grade; 81 students in grades six through eight; and 119 students in grades 9-12 for a total of 356 students K-12, with no virtual learners.
“The preschool has 12 three-year-olds and 12 four-year-olds,” he said. “This is the highest number we have had for K-12 in at least 10 years, and our preschool programs continue to be steady.
“Nonetheless, class sizes are at a manageable level as recommended by the Missouri Department of Education.”
Jordan said the school building has been very calm and focused on learning to start off the school year.
“We are excited about the growth and success we will see in our students this year,” he said. “Bus routes have changed some due to students graduating that lived further out in the hollow.
“Therefore, we do not have as long of a route as we have in the past. However, our ridership numbers continue to be strong.”
Exeter schools welcomed four new staff, Lyndsay Harmon in first grade, Jeremy McNabb in third grade, Jennifer Young as grades 6-12 Library, Health, and Interventions, and Jessica Lambert middle School English Language Arts.
“Exeter added some new supports for all students to improve learning opportunities,” Jordan said. “Also, we added a few new activities this year, including: E-sports, archery and junior high softball.
Jordan said the focus for the first few days in elementary has been teachers and students getting to know each other.
“Teachers are investigating how the students in their classes learn so that they can plan for academic success,” he said. “We all focused on procedures and making the focus about student learning. One of the main areas of attention this year is student voice and giving back to the community through partnerships with area businesses and community organizations.
“We are excited about watching the strong team of teachers in the building encourage and facilitate meaningful learning experiences for our students. Every day is a great day to be a Tiger.”
